


Flame Gadget

by Thequantumvariable



Series: FMA Fusions [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Inspector Gadget (Live Action Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Scientists, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Havolina, Literally FMA characters to the Inspector Gadget film, Royai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-10-31 10:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 31,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17847665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thequantumvariable/pseuds/Thequantumvariable
Summary: First in a series of FMA AUs where the characters are thrown into another story's world.  These will mostly be Team Mustang-centric, but the Elrics are always present. This one is a fusion with Disney's horrifying film adaptation of Inspector Gadget.Roy Mustang is an Officer  in Riverton, he lives with his god-daughter Elicia Hughes and their dog Black Hayate.  It's obvious to everyone he knows that he has feelings for Riza Hawkeye, a brilliant scientist he grew up with.  When trouble strikes her research facility he tries to prevent her research being stolen.  But after a horrific car crash he's going to need Riza's help to survive.  FEATURING: CONSENT TO BODY ALTERATION, ROYAI, RIVAL SCIENTIST KIMBLEE, CLUMSY ROY MUSTANG, AND OLDER ELICIA HUGHES.





	1. A Cop, a Scientist, and Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This fusion is pure crack I wrote while suffering from insomnia. Yes I know how bad the Inspector Gadget films are, I just wanted to write Royai to unusual Fusions I haven't seen before. Other fusions I have been writing include one for the anime series Beyound the Boundary and for the fantasy film Ladyhawke. If you have any suggestions for this series please offer them.

Roy was disturbed from much needed sleep by the sound of a dog barking. For a moment he wondered who let their dog bark senselessly. Refusing to open his eyes he tried to remain close to the warm fuzzy feeling of sleep. When four paws landed on his stomach winding him he remembered the dog was his. Or rather his god-daughter's.  
"Shit Hayate!" He choked as he pushed the dog off to clutch his gut. "No jumping!" He ordered. The dog whined then looked towards the front door. "I should quit sleeping on the couch. Is it time for Elicia to get home?" The dark haired man reached over a hand and scratched the little black and white dog's head.  
He sighed and stood up rubbing his face and trying to look better rested than he felt. "She already worries enough," He muttered picking up some dishes off the coffee table and taking them to the kitchen sink. His house was fairly clean. Mostly a little cluttered and in need of a dusting but otherwise tidy.  
The place was a little lacking in decor. Roy could always agree to that, even after he'd let Elicia run rampant with some paint samples and a few gift cards he'd decided were better used on the house. But the walls were a warm grey with blues and a hint of black in the bits of wall art and the photo frames. The only room in the house that looked complete was the girl's.  
Elicia's room was a gamer's hideaway. Roy had been too eager to listen to his charge's request for a tech themed room and it was done up in retro arcade fashion. She loved it. While still very much a femenine child she leaned towards pop culture. Roy had no problem and even encouraged her. Who was he to judge the daugher of his best friend?  
Maes Hughes had been a fellow police cadet in academy. Although rivals at first they discovered a shared common goal and became fast friends. As they went on to be actual officers and Hughes got married their friendship had reached the bonds of brotherhood.  
When Maes and Gracia Hughes were killed by a drunk driver one night everything changed. As the girl's Godfather, Roy had legal rights to her. He had expected Gracia's family to show a desire in raising the girl in a proper home instead of leaving her to a bachelor cop. But it seemed Hughes was a bit disliked by his wife's family and they had shown no interest in Elicia.  
Of course once Roy had agreed to the child services evaluation-which he passed to his suprise-Gracia's sister and mother had made demands of Roy on visitation rights. Roy had looked at his lawyer who nodded in approval and then explained that requesting absolutely no rights before Roy Mustang was deemed fit meant that they had no grounds to demand anything.  
Footsteps hurried up the porch breaking his reverie and then the key turned in the lock. The door swung open as Black Hayate bounded to the girl yipping excitedly. "Uncle Roy I'm home!" The twelve year old called out.  
"In the kitchen Elicia. I'm trying to figure out dinner," He replied.  
There was the sound of two sneakers dropping on the faux wood floors followed by a heavy bag of books and then she appeared. Her light reddish brown hair was braided and she carried the Shiba Inu in her arms. "There's still some leftover lasagna. Unless you want something else?" She suggested.  
"No that works," Roy said. "I'll go put my uniform on, mind heating it up?"  
Elicia smiled wide and put her pet down.  
Roy went to his room, shut the door, and sighed. Pulling out his blue uniform and leather shoes. "So much for rest," he mumbled. After a quick shower and shave he got dressed and then went to comb his unruly hair. The shadows under his eyes were almost too dark and his black eyes looked dull. His natually fair tone looked even paler due to the recent stint of night shifts.  
Chief Armstrong hated him enough to ignore his family requirements and had him working evening patrol. This had been going on for three months and Roy was getting fed up. Technically he had a daughter to raise. And leaving her home at night never felt safe.  
"I'm going to make Armstrong take me off of night patrol," He said as he walked back to the kitchen. Two plates of warm lasagna and breadsticks were on the little table at the window. But Elicia and Hayate were no where in sight. "Elicia?"  
"Boo!" The girl jumped out from the pantry behind him.  
Admittedly he started at her scare. This caused him to trip and he grabbed the counter to catch himself. She laughed as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh you think it's funny huh?" He asked. "How about I give your food to Hayate. I'm sure he'd be delighted."  
No that's mine!" The preteen charged for her seat, Roy hot on her heels. He took his own as they shared a laugh.  
Dinner was a quick event as it was these days. Once finished with his plate Roy went to make a pot of coffee. "I'm going to leave a little early tonight and stop in on Riza."  
Elicia grinned knowingly. "Good idea." As far as anyone who knew Roy could tell, he had a huge crush on the scientist. Riza Hawkeye was the daughter of Professor Berthold Hawkeye and his research partner. Roy had known them since childhood and the Professor had taught them both science in high school. Roy had never gotten over his childhood feelings for Riza even when she went to university and he to police academy.  
Now they remained good friends. Riza was a bit oblivous to Roy's feelings, always too focused on her research and experiments. And Roy was hopelessly anxious and unskilled in actually explaining his emotions. He was known for flirting with any female by reputation but in reality he choked when it came to someone he actually fancied.  
"You should bring something with you," The girl added.  
"Like what?" The bachelor turned to give her a slightly terrified look of confusion.  
"Something she'll find useful. Like a treat or maybe some of that really good coffee you make."  
Roy pointed a finger at her. "Ok, coffee." People often wondered what he did to make such good coffee. He never explained that it was several different blends mixed with some vanilla syrup. Why give away his trade secrets when he could have people begging him to make them some.  
He made the coffee and put into a thermos.  
Roy adjusted his uniform once more before looking at his goddaughter. "Well?" He asked in concern.  
"You look great, now hurry!" She ushered him out.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Hawkeye Research Institute may not have been large or impressive but it was full of cool stuff. By this time of day it was rare for there to be anyone other than the father and daughter on premise. Which meant he would probably get a few minutes alone. His hands gripped the thermos tightly as he walked to the apartment on site.  
As a trusted friend Riza had given him an entry badge so he wouldn't get harassed by the pushy little guard. It also helped he was an officer, if he popped in he could always claim it was out of duty to check up on them. So when he knocked on the door to their living quarters Riza wasn't surprised. "Roy," She greeted. When the security company they hired refused to let her have access to the surveilance she had simply hacked in and watched the feeds whenever she wanted. Of course she knew he was here before he knocked on the door.  
"I brought you coffee." Roy held up the thermos with a wavering smile.  
"That's very thoughtful, do you have time to come in?"  
"My patrol doesn't start for another hour," He replied. Riza slid out of his way letting him in.  
"Daddy, look who dropped by with coffee."  
The older scientist looked up his dark brown eyes lighting up at the familiar cop's features. "Hello Mustang, come to see the curiosities?" He was getting on in age and health, a reason they both worked day and night on their Bionic Technology Integration project.  
"Of course. I'm always wondering what you two cook up," He replied.  
Riza took the thermos and then handed out mugs filling them up with the hot fluid. She took a sip and hummed appreciatively. "Oh you made your special recipe."  
"How's the arm?" Roy asked.  
Berthold and Riza pointed to a work table where a very human looking robotic arm lay. "Still having trouble getting it to work. It'll flinch and make a fist sometimes when we're trying to get it to move but it seems the transferance of human thought to computer code is a little more complicated," The father explained.  
Always intrigued by the Hawkeyes' attention to detail he stared at the full length arm with a series of wires jutting from the shoulder joint. "It looks like the real deal," He noted.  
"Once we figure out where the miscomunication between brain and processor is this will revoutionize the world of medicine." Riza stood beside him close enough they were almost touching. Roy became aware of her presence and froze. To keep calm he drained his coffee. For a moment he was aware of the warmth coming off her and then he looked at her face. She was watching him curiously as if she knew his feelings and was waiting for him to make a move.  
He panicked and turned away too quickly stumbling over his own feet and almost dropping the now empty mug. Flailing he righted himself as Riza and her father watched nervously. Roy had always been a bit of a klutz and they feared for the safety of their work with him near sometimes.  
"You'll be making organs too?" Roy asked to ease the tension.  
"Yep this here is the hydraulic heart." Riza showed him a small pump with clear outer walls so the dual ventricals within were visible. She pressed a button on the stand it was displayed on and it started pumping. Roy listened raptly at the unsual beat it made. Rather than the th-thump of a human heart this made a soft sh-shunk noise. "One day people won't die on a waiting list for heart transplants," Riza murmured.  
Roy nodded silently. They were close again but this time he enjoyed the proximity.  
"What about the you know what?" He asked. Neither one had really been supposed to tell him about their project for the city but he knew and kept it quiet. He just didn't know the actual title.  
"Oh the blueprints are there on the wall." Riza pointed and Roy took a look.  
Said blueprints featured a man's body with detailed designs of marvelous machinery. Including an array of everyday items that felt out of place. "Are those tools in the fingers?"  
"Twenty every day items used by the average person and detective. All at one's fingertips," Berthold answered. "The mayor wants a Cyber-officer in the next five years."  
"I know we only agreed to it for our funding grant," Riza added, "But we've had some fun with the design."  
"When will you start this?" He looked a little concerned.  
"Not until we get a willing volunteer. It's a big deal and no cop wants their insides played with," Berthold answered. "At the moment, no one has and our grant will run out if we don't get someone."  
The officer looked between the two of them and noted the concern and worry in their identical brown eyes. Roy knew he wanted to show Riza he was there for her but if he said what he was thinking of saying would they take him seriously? So few people did.  
"What about me?" He blurted. So much for thinking it through.  
"What?" Riza frowned at him.  
"Me, I'll be your first volunteer. You don't have to do anything yet. It's a reconstructive process in the event of fatal injuries. But having a name on the project keeps you going yes?"  
"Roy do you know what this means?" Riza was giving him that look. The one she made when she thought he was being outrageous or hadn't thought something through It was a look of bemused worry. He squared his jaw turning his intense onyx gaze to her.  
"I do and I mean it. Elicia is counting on me, I'm a cop. Cops die from wounds and injuries all the time. If I die who does she have? Her aunt is a crazy woman and her grandmother is the evil stepmother from cinderella." He took a deep breath. "I'll do whatever I can to keep my promise to Maes even if I have to cross a river of mud. There are goals I refuse to give up."  
Riza stared at him in surprise. "You're sure?" She asked. There was an incredulous gleam in her eyes. "Once you agree there may not be time to back out if the time ever does come. You may be comatose."  
"I know," He murmured softly. "I think I could survive getting turned into your science experiment. I trust you."  
Riza grabbed his face and kissed his cheek suddenly. He remained motionless feeling her lips on his face. For a moment there was nothing but that breif contact. She pulled away and smirked at his shocked state. The mug slid from his hands crashing on the floor.  
The resounding shatter startled him from his trance and he winced. "Shit," he murmured bending down to pick up shards of ceramic. Riza put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.  
"It's ok I'll clean it up. You should get to the precinct for your patrol."  
"Ok," He murmured. She kissed me. Was all he could think as he made his way to the door. "I'll see you soon I'm sure."  
"I'll call in on Elicia in a bit and see how she is," Riza promised.  
"Thanks." He opened the door and she grabbed it.  
"Good luck tonight." Riza whispered.  
"Thank you," Roy whispered back. Then he was walking down the steps missing the last one and barely correcting himself before nose diving into the asphalt below. He gave a sheepish grin and waved as he hurried to his patrol car.  
Berthold chuckled from behind his daughter. "Sometimes I wonder how he graduated the academy."  
"It's not his finesse that makes him a good cop it's his heart," Riza replied. "He cares about people."  
"Which is why he would make an excellent candidate," Her father added.  
"Which is why he makes a good man," His daughter corrected while he chuckled more.  
Berthold went over to the arm and sighed. "How to get this working..." Riza came back from disposing of the mug remains to find her father armwrestling the robotic protoype. She stared blankly.  
"How?"  
"Instead of trying to force it to work I just thought about an action as if I were doing it and now it works." He grinned. "It's not thought but will that works it."  
Riza went to get something to celebrate with.


	2. Major Setbacks

Officer Roy Mustang was making his usual patrol when a suspicious pair of vehicles drove by. An unmarked van and a plateless limo was definately unusual. He waited and then followed turning off his lights and keeping his distance. When they brought him to the Hawkeye's lab he knew this wasn't going to be a good night.  
Grabbing the radio from the dash he requested back-up in case things went south fast. The dispatcher, Kain Fuery, replied "It'll be a few minutes, I suggest you wait for assistance before entering the situation."  
Roy was watching as someone tried to force their way inside the lab. "No can do we have attempted break in." He was up and out of the car in moments. He approached quickly but quietly wanting to have surprise. When the door gave way to the intruder he rushed.  
There was a shout from Berthold and a grunt. "Where is it?" A gruff voice demanded. Someone after thier research. Bastards. What Roy didn't know was that Riza was out getting alcohol to celebrate their success.  
Roy entered the door eyes finding Berthold on the ground fighting off the strangest animals Roy had ever seen. The man who broke in was carrying the arm and some other important tech. Although he looked more like a gorilla than a man.  
"Freeze!" Roy shouted taking aim at the man.  
The bastard looked at him, gave an order in another language, and then bolted for the door while one of the animals revealed a stinger that went into Berthold's arm even as Roy shot it. Too late to stop the venom.  
"Dammit." Roy followed the theif out to the van but it was already peeling out.  
He tried to shoot the tires but it seemed they were impenetrable. The van was almost out of the lot. Roy darted into his squad car spinning out and almost hitting the fence. He flipped on his sirens and lights.  
"This is Officer Mustang in pursuit of suspect attempting to kill Professor Hawkeye and steal research." He was on the radio again. "I need a bus."  
"Copy that, help is almost there," Fuery replied.  
Mustang dropped the microphone so he could focus on the van. Until the limo reappeared and something shot out one of his tires. At the high speed he was going it was too hard to keep control and he swerved violently onto the empty sidewalk. The limo stopped to watch as Roy's car hit a newspaper stand hard and the car came to a halt. The screech of clashing metal was loud and startling.  
Roy shook his head as he pushed off from the airbag. "Shit this is bad." He growled. Shocked and blurry visioned he tried to open his door but it had crunched shut. He tried force but a sharp pain in his chest made him aware of the twisted piece of metal jutting from him. There was blood glistening on it.  
"No," He muttered. Too bad he didn't see the limo's passenger take one good look at the fuel leak and pull out a match.  
"Well officer, it's been a pleasure." The man opened his door dropping the lit match on the ground and watching as the gasoline burst into flames. "Lets go."  
The limo moved just as the squad car erupted in a ball of bright fire. The sound of it making the man watching through a window grin. "That is the sound of glory."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Riza came back from getting the champagne to find her father slumped by the now empty table. She was at her father's side in an instant but when she checked for a pulse there was none. As tears filled her eyes and a sob wracked her body she looked at the ceiling. The night things started getting better for her something awful happened.  
The arm was gone. Her lab was in shambles and sirens were approaching. She hurried to the security cameras when the fireball of Mustang's patrol car lit up the night sky.  
"Roy," She murmured thinking about her forward kiss earlier. "Please be ok." Even as she said this she pulled up the constant sound recording bytes from his visit. The constant recording was so that she and her father could hypothesise without having to write notes and could go back and listen to their discussions later.  
The cameras showed the break in, Roy's heroic entrance, her father's demise, and the opening scene of the chase. Riza rushed outside to the parking lot as an ambulance and two squad cars arrived. By the time she eplained to Officer's Havoc and Breda what had happened the explosion had been handled as well.  
The cameras helped verify her story and Havoc swore. "So that was his car that went up."  
Riza's gasp made the cop wince. "Sorry Doc, I know you and Roy have a thing going."  
"Have you heard about his condition?" There was a desperate look in her usually focused eyes.  
"I'll let you know as soon as I do," He pulled her back from the rolling gurny carrying her father's body. She turned into him a sob escaping the professional woman. She never showed weakness, but tonight she couldn't keep up a facade. Havoc held her, he was quite used to victims or survivors clinging to him after traumatic experiences.  
Breda watched as evidence was gathered.  
About the time Riza's emotions had run their intitial course the officers' radios crackled with Fuery's voice. "I'm sending this to everyone. Officer Roy Mustang was injured in the line of duty tonight. He's currently in critical condition but the doctors don't think he'll see the sunrise."  
There was a slew of swear words and Riza chocking back a sob. Turned away from the two men she looked at her defiled research center and felt a white hot anger build up within her. "No," She said with finality. "He'll see the sun again."  
Havoc and Breda shared a look as they followed her into the lab.  
Doctor Riza Hawkeye, holder of mutliple degrees in both medicine and engineering stood amidst the destruction the theiving murderer left behind. Her brown eyes were no longer glassy. Instead Havoc took a step back from the steely glare he'd only heard rumors about. Breda raised an eyebrow at him.  
"I need a few things before we go see Roy. I'll go get Elicia. I was supposed to call her anyways." Despite her lacking any authority with them, both men agreed.  
Riza gathered her laptop, a sealed suitcase, and the sound byte she'd clipped. These along with the blueprints on the wall were gathered up as she raced to her car. Her flats crunched on the broken glass of the champagne bottle she had dropped upon the sight she was greeted with.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Elicia stared at the scientist in concern. The woman looked disheveled and had obviously been crying. "Did you and Uncle Roy fight?" The girl asked worried for them both.  
"No, but he's in the hospital and we need to get you there," Riza explained.  
The girl's emotions plummeted instantly. "No." Her eyes welled up and she rushed the woman. Riza wrapped her arms around the twelve year old and sucked in her own fears with a huff. She put a hand on the girl's head. "I can help him, but I need to get to him."  
"Ok." Elicia hurried to get her shoes on and grab her backpack.  
The two girls got into Riza's sedan and took off for the hospital.


	3. How to Save a Life

The Head Nurse was called in by an officer to clear Riza Hawkeye to visit Roy Mustang along with one preteen Elicia Hughes. Roy had never thought it right to change her name to Mustang. He was her legal guardian and sole parent with full custody, but he would never pretend she was his daughter. She was his best friend's daughter and he cared for her in place of her late father. Sure he did more than most would expect of him, but he would be dammed if he let Hughes' daughter go without.  
"And these two are?" The nurse demanded.  
"His girlfriend and goddaughter," Havoc replied. "They need to be allowed to see him." Riza was too busy thinking what she needed to correct the officer.  
"Fine, but I expect some I.D." The dark skinned woman held out her hand. Riza procured her driver's license and Elicia offered her school I.D. "Ok," She said handing them back. "Room 234 and please don't upset the staff."   
Riza nodded.  
Elicia tried not to cry at the sight of her Uncle but he was so badly burned that she started instantly and just sat there beside his motionless body. "Please don't leave me too," The girl begged.  
Riza watched solemnly. "I need a list of all his injuries," She asked the doctor attending.   
"Excuse me?" The aging man asked gruffly.  
"Doctor?" Riza waited.  
"Knox."  
"Doctor Knox I can save his life but I need to know everything. I need your chart on him," She answered evenly. "I have recorded vocal consent to use an experimental treatment on him."   
"And how will you do that?" He asked dismissively.  
"I'm Doctor Riza Hawkeye, Medical Engineer and co-research founder of the Hawkeye Institute," She answered. "Now Officer Mustang's file or I can explain to the Mayor that a medical professional got in the way of his pet project."   
"Whatever." He snatched the chart from the wall and handed it to her. "Try what you can." He stormed out.  
Riza pulled out her phone and made a call. "Mayor Grumman, this is Riza Hawkeye."   
"Doctor, I am sorry to hear about your father," The mayor said.  
"Thank you. I'm calling on behalf of the brave officer who tried to catch the murderer. He agreed this afternoon to be put on the list of volunteers for our cyber-cop project. I need your promised funding to get it done."   
"Oh excellent, I'll be there to oversee the project soon."   
"Thank you." Riza hung up and sighed. "Now I just need a few things."   
Elicia looked at her, "Can you save him?"   
"Yep. I need a few things though," Riza replied taking out a notebook and writing quickly. "I need the tuxedo he wore to the benefit dinner last month. The one you talked him into getting. That thing is tailored so it will be perfect."   
"Yeah it came back from the cleaner yesterday." Elicia nodded eager to help.   
"This list is everything of your Uncle's I need. Don't question why, just find what you can," The scientist instructed.   
"You're going to turn him into a cyborg aren't you?" The girl asked.  
"Are you against that?" Riza asked seriously. "If you are I need to know now."   
"No, but what you talked about with the Mayor. Uncle Roy told me it was a project for making a cyborg cop. That it was a serious undertaking and it would change the patient's life forever," The girl explained.  
"You know he'll still be the same Uncle Roy you know. He'll just have extra abilities. He'll also be a lot harder to kill."   
"Are you really going to give him that silly title?" Elicia asked.   
"Which title?" Riza asked knowing what she was mentioning.   
"Detective Gadget?"   
"Inspector Gadget was originally the title my father used."   
"I think it's kind of neat." Elicia smiled softly. "Makes him sound like a super hero."   
"He is one isn't he," Riza agreed. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later Havoc and Elicia got back to the now busy hospital. They were flanked by Edward and Alphonse Elric and Winry Rockbell pulling huge rolling trunks with them. The three young adults were interns studying bionic engineering. Alphonse walked with the help of an exoskeleton leg suit and Edward had a simple bionic arm. Their hope was to find more lifelike replacements for their damaged bodies.  
Winry was the friend that had developed the prosthetics they used. But she wanted to create more integrated limbs that didn't limit the user.  
Just like that the operating theater became a mini bionic technology lab. 

Riza looked over the two dozen road cases her interns had brought her. "I think this is everything important. Any other bits and pieces can be retrieved after we have the internal life support functioning." It took her two hours to have the ILS programmed correctly and ready for implantation.  
With the help of a surgeon and two nurses they began. Riza stood over Roy's broken body a scalpel in her hand, "Forgive me Roy," She whispered as she brought her shaking hand towards his clavicle.   
"Do you want me to make the incision?" The surgeon asked.  
"I can do it." Riza cleared her head of her romantic feelings for her patient and it steeled her nerves. With a confident even motion she cut through all layers of skin from collar bone to navel. "Everyone get ready."  
While he was attached to external life support he was under a great deal of trauma and his boy could panic at the new strain of surgery. Time was against them as they replaced damaged organs with bionic replicas. As these were not yet connected to the neural interface-which hadn't been attached to Roy's brain yet-they were connected to a computer that would regulate them until the next step.   
Riza could worry about the neural interface after he was no longer running on failing tissue.  
His heart was the first to be replaced followed by his lungs, liver, and kidneys. His appendix and spleen were removed to make room for other necessary devices. Then they worked on the spinal cord reinforcement connection cable. This was a long slender cord with tiny ports that each bionic organ and interface would connect to. This in turn connected to the nerual interface fusing the mechanical replicas to the organic mind. The organs not in need of repair were being affixed with interfaces that connected to the cable allowing the micro processor to regulate all bodily functions acurately.  
Once that was done Riza moved to the hardest and most terrifying step.   
One wrong slip and the officer she knew would be gone forever. The last thing they wanted was for him to wake up a blank slate. Because it would devestate everyone else. They needed the one and only Mustang back in action not an amnesiac look alike.   
Riza was careful in cutting open his scalp and skull. Unfortunately for this she actually had to remove a large section of bone and install a microcomputer neural net interface. This required some delicate work and allowing the interface to implant receptors within the brain all over.   
With steady hands she pulled the two inch round paper thin device with a series of hair-like rods on one side from a travel case and placed it in position. Winry came over and very carefully attached Riza's laptop to it. After typing in she looked at the scientist exectantly. "The intitial implantation activation key is CRM520-108-FMA-29G," Riza said.  
Winry nodded as she typed in the last digit and pressed enter. "I hope this works."  
"It will," Riza replied. "His vitals have gone up since installation of the replacement organs. He's fighting just as hard as we are."   
The neural net interface lit up and the receptors reached out towards Roy's brain. The tiny metal fingers found soft tissue and delved into it pulling the thin device flush with the man's brain. Riza took her computer and started typing into it. "Once disgnostics clears and I run a brain scan we can move on. For now I want everyone to start working on the auxillary systems." Three heads nodded and began on the more whimsical parts.  
After a while her laptop completed the diagnostic, the interface was running perfectly. Then she checked Roy's brain through it. After learning that everything was indeed looking good on that end she unplugged her laptop from it and snaked a thin wire out of the skull. She made an incision from the initial hole in the cranium to behind the right ear inserting the wire that was connected to the interface. This would be the external connection port.   
Then the surgeon replaced the bone with a specialized plastice plate and sewed up the scalp. She'd been particularly careful not to remove his hair. Riza's fingers needed a break. With that done she stopped to check the time. Eight hours of surgery had passed. It was quite a lot to get done but the help of her interns and the medical staff who had refused to let her perform major reconstructive surgery without them had made very quick work.   
Riza soildered the connector port to the wire still hanging out of Roy's head and implanted it behind the ear where it would be visually hidden. Then she connected her laptop again and began uploading the necessary drivers and software of the program. This was the same hardware and software present in each organ and interface.


	4. Delicate Work

Police Chief Olivier Armstrong and Mayor Grumman watched the scientists work on what should prove to be an unusual experiment.   
"I still think this project is a waste, especially on him," Armstrong grumbled.  
"And the council approved this funding two years ago. That we're finally seeing the fruit of their research is exciting. I look forward to seeing this work," The old man replied.  
"You old fool. You give a man too much power and he'll become a monster."   
"Not Mustang," Grumman chortled. "He's a fine upstanding young man. Has a goddaughter to look after and a scientist he secretly fancies. And he is quite humble."   
Armstrong stared in surprise. "He's got a thing for Hawkeye?"   
"The two of them are just too busy with their work to do anything about their feelings." Grumman grinned wickedly.   
"No wonder she's so desparate to do this," Armstrong sighed. 

Twelve hours in and Riza was looking a little weak. "Hand me that soldiering iron," Riza asked.   
Alphonse handed it to her and watched her soldier another sensor to the polycarbonate leg frame. "Why don't you get some rest Hawkeye? We can keep working on the programming side of things," The boy suggested. At seventeen he and his eighteen year old brother were prodigees in the medical engineering field.   
"Are you sure?"   
"How about we break off in teams of two. Ed and I will worry about the small stuff right now and when you two get back we'll trade off," Winry suggested. Ed nodded silently while he continued connecting wires to some kind of port.  
"Ok." Riza left the room Alphonse right behind her.   
Outside Elicia and Havoc weren't the only ones waiting. The Mayor and Chief of Police were present along with a handful of officers. In the back Riza could see the telltale signs of reporters attemping to get closer. The officers must have been those who had worked with Roy before and there in a sign of support.   
"I'm getting some rest, the work is no where near done," She explained.  
Elicia nodded slowly from her seat where she was trying to get homework done. "Nina's family will be picking me up soon," She told the scientist. "I'm staying with them and so is Black Hayate."   
Riza relaxed at this. She was glad the girl had a friend in the foruteen year old adopted daughter of Officers Maria and Denny Brosh. Nina had been abused by her father Shou Tucker and removed at the age of six. For seven years she'd lived with the two cops happily. In their patchworked families the two girls had much in common.  
Riza was directed to the surgeons sleeping room and she fell atop a bed trying to block out the thoughts of what she still had to do. Alphonse took another bed and for four hours they slept soundly.

Edward watched the two leave and then turned to his girlfriend. "You think Mustang knows exactly what he agreed to?"   
"Probably not. Riza said he's seen the blueprints and knew what they were possibly calling the project but I don't think he understood how much it changes the patient," She replied. They were taking turns plugging unusual looking devices to a laptop and downloading driver hardware and software to them.   
Ed picked up what looked like a miniature fuel tank and checked the valve and connector ports. "I hope for her sake he's forgiving. Because if he even looks like he hates her for this she'll lose her passion to deal with him."   
"I think he knows subconciously that Riza's job is to push boundaries. He'll understand the severity of the project even if it's an acquired taste," She answered unplugging an odd looking gun from the laptop.   
They continued with the auxilary systems prep until Riza and Alphonse relieved them.   
"All the necessary components to run the bionic organs and auxillary systems are ready for installation," Edward announced as he and Winry headed for the door.   
"Then that's where Alphonse and I will start," Riza replied.  
The two went right to work installing an intricate secondary circulatory system for oil. The mechanical parts would need it just as his tissue organs needed blood. The oil reservior slotted into the hole left by the missing appendix and was anchored to the reinforced bone structure.   
Roy's entire spine, pelvis, ribcage, and skull had been meticulously injected with a liquid metal serum whose molecules attached to the bone molecules creating a reinforced skeleton without removing the bones or adding too much weight. The numerous oil lines were woven around and through connecting to each mechanical organ. Extra lines were left for future pieces yet to be added.   
Alphonse looked at Roy's legs which had both suffered mutliple shatter fractures and were going to be amputated. They were both covered in a light weight casting material that would allow them to ensure the bionic prosthetics were the same shape and size. After removing the castings and putting them on another table he looked at Riza, they were alone. The doctor and nurses had left once their skills were no longer of use. The next few steps were very specialized.  
Riza finished preparing the leg frames and inserted them into the castings. The cast itself was made of a synthetic skin with micro sensors spread throughout. They would never be as receptive as real nerves but they connected to the sensors on the frames that would connect with the spinal connector. The false skeletal structure filled most of the casting as it was designed with a few tricks of it's own. The empty space was filled with a shock absorbant jelly that moulded into the shape of the casting. It also felt like muscle and fat tissue giving a lifelike apearance.  
The feet had been casted as well but these were attached separetely and not to the leg casting but the frame. With separate pieces the leg extenders would allow Roy to reach up to ten feet above his natural height without lifting his feet off the ground. The polycarbonate foot bone structure went in but these were almost solid. Then they did the gruesome act of removing Roy's battered legs from him at the hip socket.   
The trickiest part of Berthold and Riza's research had been how to attach synthetic skin to organic. They had found using a technique to grow the skin gave it the ability to heal if sewn together. And if sewn to living tissue it bonded just fine.   
With Roy's new legs attached Ed and Winry's four hours of sleep were up and they returned to find Riza and Al attaching the legs to the spinal cord. "You guys have been busy." Ed murmured.   
"We had some help with the trickier stuff, but we still have a lot to do," Riza replied not looking at the returning pair.   
"Should we start on the arms?" Winy asked.  
"Yes, but I will do the hands. I have to make sure they're perfectly correct."   
"Ok."  
Roy's arms were worse than his legs and she was lucky Olivier had given her perission to replicate his finger prints from the police database. While the three interns worked on inserting the arm structures into the castings Riza pulled out very delicate looking metal hand frames.  
These were what Roy had asked about when viewing the blueprints. Without a word she opened them and removed some of the tools within to replace them with some of the ones Elicia had brought back for her. These included a prefered pen, a favorite cologne, and master house key.   
Once Riza was done trading the basic items preinstalled for ones unique to Mustang she applied the skin very carefully. The finger prints were then branded into the tips. Life lines, knuckle wrinkles, and texture were added meticulously to each one. Perfectly shaped false nails were attached and then they were complete.   
At this point Riza went for another rest taking six hours of sleep instead.   
She found all three interns asleep on the floor. Instead of waking them she got to work where they had left off attaching the arms and hands. Like the legs the arms had extensions. Synthetic skin was sewn to living tissue and then the connections were made.   
Edward woke up first. "Oh shit sorry Hawkeye!" He hurried to his feet wondering how long he had slept.  
"It's ok. We're almost done." Riza was connecting the oil line to the limbs. "Here pretty soon we can sew him back up."  
"Good. I'm glad we get to test this all out but I'm exhausted," The intern said.  
"I am too. Once he's stable I can worry about making the necessary adjustments to his clothes."   
"Ugh leave me out of the fashion side." Ed wasn't much for fashion with his black clothes and red hooded jacket.   
"Ed shut up," Alphonse groaned from where he lay flat on the floor. On his torso sat Riza's laptop still connected to the port behind Roy's ear.   
"Time is it?" Winry stirred.  
"We're reaching hour forty-five of surgery," Riza answered. That got the two up groggily.   
"What's left?" Al asked as the other two interns yanked him up.   
"Sensory enhancements, power supply, blood and oil stock, vocal command code, pre-final diagnostics, boot up test, final diagnostics," Riza answered swiftly. She knew the pending list by heart.   
"That's not bad. What about weapons load?" Winry queried stretching.   
"No live ammo until after he's awake and adjusted," Ed supplied. He knew better than to put ammo in a dangerous experiment before they could trust it was fully operational and sane.  
Riza just nodded and kept working.


	5. Waking Up

Elicia came to see him again that afternoon. This time he wasn't an open mess looking like a cruel rendering of the game Operation. This time he looked better though his nose was still bruised. Riza was doing something with his eyes while the Elric brothers were poking in his ears.   
"Is it almost over?" She asked Officer Rebecca Catalina who was beside her.  
"I honestly can't say kiddo, but I think so. It's possible they're about finished, but no one knows when he'll wake up." The woman didn't believe in lying to kids. Especially when their parents were cops.   
"I hope it's soon. Black Hayate misses him." The girl swiped at a loose tear and made a fist. "I want my Uncle Roy," She mumbled.   
Rebecca scooped her up. "I know sweety I know."   
No longer attempting to be brave the preteen dissolved into a round of crying that broke the officer's heart. "Sh, it'll be ok I promise." She murmured soothing circles in the girl's back. She just hoped it was a promise that would become reality. 

 

Riza looked up to see her friend holding the sobbing Elicia and sighed. "Winry take over," She ordered.  
When the intern had her hands in place holding the lens implant against Roy's exposed inner eye Riza hurried out.   
"Elicia?" She asked.  
The girl looked up desperate questions in her red puffy eyes. "Doctor Hawkeye?" Her voice wavered as she slipped from Rebecca's arms and dove for the scientist.   
"I have good news. Everything is working correctly. I have just a few more things to do and then he'll be stable enough for a room you can sit with him in." She was surprised when the girl wrapped tired arms around her in a death grip.   
"Thank you," The girl sobbed with relief. "I don't like being alone."   
"You aren't," Riza assured.

After nearly seventy-two hours of constant surgery Hawkeye and her team were finished. Internal life support was functioning and replicated Roy's natural rythm. His many incisions were healing without signs of infection and the last diagnostic had reported no issues or faults within the system.   
Mayor Grumman shook her hand in congratulations as the patient was moved to a recovery room while they waited for him to come out of his coma. Elicia and Armstrong were there as well and watched one in excitement the other with disdain. "We look forward to seeing him back on his feet," The aging politician chortled.   
"I can't say how long recovery will take. Unfortunately no one knows the time frame for this kind of over-haul reconstruction. As we move into some smaller test runs we'll start to get a better idea of what the recovery is like," Riza replied.   
"I suppose you already have candidates in mind for the next step?"   
"Actually two of my interns are next for basic bionic limb integration."   
"I see. Well keep up the good work Doctor." Grumman turned to head off to whatever he was scheduled to do.   
Chief Olivier Armstrong took this opportunity to speak with the successful scientist. "I hope for both your sakes he can return to duty. I would hate to see what will happen to you if your hard work fails," The older blond woman spoke without threat.  
"It won't fail," Riza returned hotly. "I'm convinced Roy Mustang will be back in action shortly, and he'll be ten times better at his job."   
"Ha! Now that will be a miracle," The Chief replied before abruptly turning away and stalking down the hall.   
Elicia followed Riza into the room to sit and watch over her Uncle. She had even brought her English homework to read to him in the hopes he would wake up to a friendly voice. "You're allowed to stay until eight pm," Riza reminded her. "Denny Brosh will pick you up then. I'll call you if he comes to before sunrise."   
"I know." Elicia gave a warm smile. With her Uncle's life no longer hanging by a thread she was much more at ease and calm. Riza smiled back her own rollercoaster of emotions beginning to resurface. Armstrong had come to personally deliver her father's autopsy reports.   
They weren't good. He was poisoned by whatever the hell had struck him. The video showed some horrible looking creature that reminded Riza more of the Island of Doctor Moreau. There were also no DNA samples whatsoever. No fingerprints, no clothing or dirt remnants. It was as if a ghost had broke in and stolen the arm.   
Instead of worrying about who had killed her father she focused on final preparations for Roy's recovery. It wasn't going to be easy or quick. The man would need time and space to adjust. And also a few private discussions with her. She would answer every question he had no matter how incriminating or embarrassing it would be. He deserved to know every last detail about her work.   
Since Roy was already a police officer he would be returned to his duty once she cleared him. And because he was a test run for an alternative method of treating injured service men and women he would get lots of publicity and scorn. He would be interviewed as a living vision of the future while also becoming the target of anti-science hate. 

 

Roy did not awaken suddenly like in the movies. The coma lifted into dreams of fire and scorching heat. He dreamed of a haphazard car chase and being upside down while heat and bright light engulfed him. These faded into darkness and when he had forgotten about the dreams he found himself aware of his own body in a bed.   
He was acutely aware that something wasn't right. His body felt stiff and heavy and his head ached. Opening his eyes felt like looking into the sun as the over head light glared back at him. As he blinked to adjust to the brightness and look around he was not pleased to see the bland surroundings of a hospital room. Something went terribly wrong. He moved his head and felt quite a bit of pain.   
Swallowing hard he tried to sit up. His body was stiff and refusing to cooperate. Not to mention the pain. Trying not to panic about the situation he wondered when the nurse would come in so he could get some answers. 

"That's the extent of the patient's reconstruction," Riza concluded an explanation of her work to the gathered scientists and doctors. "I'm sure you have your questions." She looked at Chief Armstrong and Mayor Grumman as she said this.   
"I want to know what made you even attempt this?" An older man asked. He looked disbelieving at best.  
"I did it because I wasn't going to let him die. Also because I want to improve the world. This is how we can. These replacement organs and limbs will operate as good as the ones he was born with if not better."   
"At what cost?" A woman demanded. "How much did your sci-fi project set you back?"   
"This particular test was expensive. But the funding was a joint effort. I am not at liberty to disclose the actual dollar amount, but I can tell you that restorative limbs and bionic organ replacement will be a far cry cheaper. It's projected that the speed and efficiency of this process will cost ten thousand per organ and fifteen thousand per limb."  
"Impossible how?"  
Riza smirked at this. "Simple. Organ transplants are astronomical because of limited resources. How many hearts does a hospital have on standby? How long does a patient sit on the waiting list for a donor match? Increasing the availability decreases the cost. Not to mention a safer procedure. With no chance of rejection the patient doesn't need medication or constant check-ups to ensure they are healthy."  
"You think you've just changed the world don't you?"   
"I have. I may be bold and crazy. But if this works how long before sick children stop waiting for hearts? How long before anti-rejection medication becomes antiquated? How long before people can afford to live?" A beeping sound cut her off and she pulled out her phone. On it a message flashed. "And if you'll excuse me my patient is awake." She shoved it back in her pants pocket and bustled out of the board room. 

 

She needed to be the one to explain everything. 

 

When she reached Roy's room there was no one around and he was still lying on the bed. That was a good sign. Even so Riza paused, hand on the door silently praying for this to go well. She knew him well enough to know he could flip out, volunteer or not, it was still a big change for him.  
She opened the door with a nervous inhale and stepped inside shutting the door firmly behind her. This was not the emotional reunion of two friends who should probably be lovers. No this was the meeting where the doctor came in and gave you good news that came with some provisos.   
"Roy?" She asked tentatively.  
His head turned her way and his dark eyes shone with recognition. "Riza?" He mimiced in a dry raspy voice.  
"How do you feel?" The scientist began taking the chair beside him.   
"What happened?" Roy asked instead. "I remember being at your house. I remember offering to be your first volunteer so you'd keep your funding. I also remember leaving for patrol. But after that it's a blank." He sounded frustrated with his lack of details.   
"Someone broke into the lab, you tried to stop them. They killed my father and stole the arm. You gave chase and it didn't end so well for you," Riza explained. "Your car flipped at some point and it exploded. They said there was a fuel line leak and that it caught fire."   
Roy took a shuddering breath preparing himself for what he had to ask. "Was it my life or my body?" He asked softly. A part of him already knew the answer. She wouldn't be telling him what had happened if he had a chance of surviving that on his own.  
"I chose your life," Riza replied. "I had already lost my father, I didn't want to lose you too," She admitted.  
Roy's eyes closed. "I assume you have a lot to tell me?"   
"When you're up for it. But I did want to explain a few things," She admitted.  
"Help me sit up?" He asked. "I don't like laying here uselessly." She adjusted his bed into a sitting position. "Alright let's hear it. How much of me is your gadgets?" He gave her an expectant look. He was calm for now, and he wanted to know.  
"More than I would like to admit," She murmured softly looking away.   
"Hey," Roy growled. He managed to reach a hand out for hers and she looked up at the touch. "I'm alive, Elicia isn't left behind again, and I'm not going to lose my job. So tell me what you had to do to keep me alive. I need to know." His eyes softened. "I can handle it Riz, I know what was in those blueprints on the wall."   
"Ok," She answered shakily before giving the cop a brave smile and going into scientist mode. "You were barely alive when I got to the hospital. You suffered enough damage in your arms and legs to make you quadrapalegic if you survived. You had a piece of metal in your chest. Your heart and your lungs were suffering blunt force trauma. Your liver and kidneys were failing as well. You suffered multiple contusions, burns, and broken bones. The internal bleeding was going to kill you if we didn't remove the compromised organs." She paused remembering how terrifying making that first incision had been.  
The officer's fingers tightened ever so slightly around hers in a silent nudge to keep going. Riza swallowed and complied. "I replaced your heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. Your spleen and appendix were removed to make room for some necessary components. I hate to say this but both your arms and legs were amputated. Your brain suffered the least though the memory loss is likely from the concussion. The neural net interface was grafted to your brain and it connects my bionics to your brain. Without it you'd be dead."   
He took a deep breath. He'd been expecting a lot but that was an enormous amount of work to do for one person's life. "I assume the Mayor wouldn't sign off on this until you assured him you were going to implant all the devices in your designs?" He looked a little concerned by such a thought.  
"That's true. You're it. You're the first bionic cop." She shook her head. "I always dreamed this moment would be perfect. That I'd be poised and collected." She swiped at a tear. "But I feel like such an ass having you wake up to find out I played god with your body." Sniffling she stood up and walked to the window looking down at the parking lot below. "I'm sorry, because even in the wake of my success I know what I've doomed you to."  
For a long moment silence stretched between them. "You saved my life," Roy finally said calmly. "I asked you to. I made you promise you would," He continued. "I forgive you, and I thank you."   
Riza whirled to look at him. He chuckled at this a smile spreading on his face. "Just please tell me your father didn't win the naming bet." When she shrugged noncommittally he rolled his eyes. "He did?"   
"Allow me to explain the details of the gadget project," Riza replied sarcastically.   
"I hate you so much right now." He leaned back and gestured for her to keep going. "Don't stop if you do you'll never get to the end." They both knew he was right. If she lost her nerve now she would never find it again.   
"You know your arms and legs aren't just high functioning realistic prosthetics. They're tools designed to give you the upper hand in fighting the bad guys. You have at your finger tips twenty daily tools necesary for life and work."  
"I saw those," He interupted to look at his hand. "It feels and looks real."   
Riza took his left hand in hers and gently pressed the knuckles. At this the last joints of each finger popped open like lids on unseen hinges revealing a few of the mundane items hidden in his body. Dark eyes looked in wonder at the hidden devices. "Huh," He murmured. Riza released her grip and his fingers returned to looking normal the seams only just now visible to him.  
"That's only a small portion of it," Riza warned.  
"I think I'm too tired to learn anymore right now." Roy gave her a weak smile. He did look tired. His body was still healing and adjusting. "Don't worry. I'm actually kind of intrigued." She gave him a half smile before heading for the door.   
"See you later then," She said.  
"See you," He returned.  
Once alone Roy took a deep breath. She'd saved his life by taking him up on his offer. Well at least he had been given the chance to choose. He fidgited for a little while trying to imagine what his insides now looked like. Was it all gleaming steel and medical grade plastic? Was it a haphazard mix of flesh and tech held together with spit and tape?   
He drifted to sleep wondering when Elicia would be in for a visit. Roy missed his neice very much right now. He just hoped Riza had explained to her what had been done to keep him out of the grave.


	6. Back Home

Elicia entered the room a grin on her face. "Uncle Roy!" She climbed into the bed and hugged him.  
"Hey kiddo," He replied. "How are you doing?"  
"I missed you. Hayate missed you. When can you come home?" He felt moisture against his shoulder and patted her back.  
"Soon. A couple days and Riza says I can go home. Everything's looking good so far." She pulled back and he looked into her green eyes solemnly. "I am so sorry. I never want to leave you all alone."  
"It's ok," She replied. "I'm just glad Doctor Hawkeye was able to save you."  
"You're aware of what she had to do right?" Roy asked a little worried about her response. He didn't want to alienate the girl so soon after almost losing him.  
"She showed me the blueprints when we were waiting for you to wake up from your coma. I watched them replace your organs." Elicia looked a little haunted by what she'd seen but she also beamed with the relief of her godfather not being in a casket right now.  
"You're ok with me being like this?" He asked. She wasn't treating him differently but he wanted to hear it from her own mouth.  
"Of course. I think it's kind of cool." She gave him a serious look. "You're still my Uncle Roy and that's all that matters to me. As long as who you are doesn't change I don't care what you are made of."  
He hugged her this time grateful for her unconditional support. "Thanks," He whispered in her ear. Smiling she caught him up on what he had missed in the last twelve days since the explosion.

 

Roy opened the car door and took a deep breath of fresh air. Finally out of the hospital he could return home. Recovery and adjustment would take a few more weeks but he was being compensated for his injuries. Elicia popped out of the back as Riza slowly got out from behind the wheel. She was dropping them off at home after Roy's release.  
"It feels good to be home," The officer murmured as he walked towards the door. His movements were jerky and unsteady but mostly because he was getting used to the changes to his body. Once used to it he would be able to move with confidence.  
Elicia opened the door and they all filed in Riza pulling a rolling case behind her. She had some necessary devices for the home to set up. Roy sat down on the couch and sighed. Though not as weak as when he first came to he was still easily drained. His body was doing fine but he wasn't fully healed up yet.  
He reached over and pushed the message button on the telephone on the side table. The mechanical femenine voice crackled to life. 'You have seven unheard messages, first unheard message:' The voice was one Roy knew all too well, Elicia's Aunt Emma. "Roy I saw the news about you getting injured on duty. Why wasn't I notified? I need to know if Elicia is ok. As her family I should have been asked to come and get her. Call me immediately."  
Elicia grimmaced as she sat down beside her uncle. "She's mad. I got a call from her and told her I was staying with Nina's family. The only thing she asked was if I needed to be moved to her house for a while. I said no." The girl looked like she would rather sit through a swarm of bees stinging her than stay with the woman. Roy nodded his agreement. The woman was a whole basket of crazy.  
Riza looked at the two while a bunch of automated telemarketer messages played. "I have a few things you'll probably want to keep in your bedroom," The scientist said. She was well acquainted with the small home but she would prefer to not cross any more boundaries with her patient.  
Roy pushed himself up and headed for his room. "What have you got now Doctor Hawkeye?" Since the big debauchle yesterday morning he had been overly formal with her. And maybe he was being a stubborn ass, but Riza had taken a few more liberties than were expected from his understanding of her project. But that could be overlooked, what he had really been upset by was the sheer cost of the program.  
She followed him in and shut the door behind her. They needed to talk first, he wasn't going to listen to her instructions correctly if they didn't get over their previous fight.  
"Don't start with me," Roy warned giving her a stinkeye as he sat on his bed gingerly.  
"I'll start with whatever I please," The woman snapped back. "I don't know how many more times I can apologize to you." She gave him a stern look. "You were dying Roy, remember?"  
"I'm not worth that kind of debt," He snarled back. "It's not that I don't appreciate the fact that I'm not dead because I do. I just wish you hadn't wasted that kind of capital on me."  
"It was that or watching Elicia go live with her aunt Emma," The scientist returned. They were going to end up playing dirty for this fight.  
"Thirty Million Dollars!" Roy shouted. "What on earth made you think I was worth that much money. How much of me belongs to the city now? How long before that debt is cleared from us both?"  
"You pigheaded idiot!" Riza slammed the handle on her case down. "I'm not stupid enough to make us indentured servants to this city!"  
"Then why did Grumman sign off on it? Why did you put so much money into me?" Roy asked quietly. For a man with his confidence on the field he had absolutely no self-worth. His life was a debt to those who needed him, not a blessing, in his eyes.  
"Because I refused to let you die. Ok. I wasn't ready to lose you, Elicia wasn't ready to lose you, half the fucking precinct showed up at the hospital because they didn't want to lose you. There are a lot of people who consider you an asset in this world. Now Grumman signed off because then he could pay off his grant before inflation caused the price to go up more. He never gave us a cap he just promised to provide us with the funds when the time came. Thirty million is pittance compared to what it would have cost for natural organ replacement and prosthetics like the Elrics have," She replied still agitated by him.  
"And besides I don't think you understand that that was the lowest end cost for everything. Do you know what our original quote for the gadget project was?" Riza asked coolly.  
"Of course not. You never told me figures." Roy met her eyes slowly.  
"Fifty Million. That would have been the cost if," she raised her hand to preempt his coming indignant splutter, "if, we had done the surgery in my facility, with full staff, with brand new materials, and enough time to initiate the patient archive procedures." She lowered her hand.  
"Holy Shit Riz, why did you ever let me volunteer?" The man murmured feeling like an asshole.  
"Because I would have wanted to save your life even without consent. And I am pretty sure you feel the same about me. But I cut out a lot of the expenses when I ran out of time. I had to move fast. The hospital even loaned us the help of a surgeon and two nurses." She approached him slowly. "I made everything myself, so instead of purchasing manufactured items I used our original prototypes."  
"You made everything?"  
"Winry helped but she's the best at buiding prosthetics quickly. I dropped the expenses as much as possible for you." She sat beside him.  
"I'm sorry Riza. I know I'm a stubborn idiot," He murmured turning to look at her.  
"It's ok. Just don't ever accuse me of having poor money management ever again," She replied.  
He chuckled at this then looked towards the box on the floor. "So what's in the box?"  
Riza's eyes gleamed wickedly as she retrieved it. She put it on the floor as she took her spot at his side again. "This is your charging dock and weekly diagnostic scanner."  
"Charging?" He paled. She flipped open the case and pulled out a small computer.  
"This will run a diagnostic while you sleep. You just plug it into the port behind your right ear and press the green button. While you're resting it will run a full systems scan. In the morning it will display any messages on the screen. Which you must acknowledge before disconnecting. If there's anything seriously wrong I'll get a text message right away."  
"Makes sense," Roy murmured. "You're going to keep your eyes on me no matter what."  
She hefted a large battery charger from the case and set it on the floor. "This will charge your auxillary power supply. You have a specialized lithium-ion battery pack tucked inside you, and yes you have to charge it or you'll be weak and useless," She informed.  
"And how do I do that?" Roy asked.  
She pulled a cord from the device with a larger connector on it. "This."  
"And where do I put this?" He asked a little concerned. He never knew if Riza was going to pull one of her father's more excentric stunts and have his battery port in an unusual area.  
"Left ear," She replied. Roy raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Behind your left ear. Easy for you to reach but in a relatively hidden area. Just don't get your hair in it."  
Roy reached his hand behind his left ear and felt the now familiar sensation of plastic imbedded in skin. "You find the weirdest places for this kind of stuff," He said.  
Riza pushed against the port and he heard plastic sliding. "There's covers on both ports. Just push them in to open and close them. Do not shower or swim without the ports sealed."  
Roy pressed the port hearing the plastic slide back into place and lock with a click. "Ok, diagnostics once a week, how often do I need to charge?"  
"You'll get an indicator light in the left corner of your vision. I assume it won't be very often at first. The more comfortable you are with the fancier gadgets the more power you'll drain." Riza stood up. "I should get going. I want you to take a couple days of rest over the weekend and on Monday I'll come by to start your therapy."  
Therapy was the code word for teaching Roy how to utilize the technology he had been given.  
Roy stood up and followed her back out to the living room. "I don't think I'm going to do too much of anything. I still feel like my head is going to implode."  
"That's something you'll get over. There's a little less space in your skull than before and your body will hyperfocus on it until it's adjusted." She explained. "Now get some sleep. Elicia keep him from doing too much and call me if anything weird happens."  
"Yes Doctor," the girl replied with a sharp salute.  
Roy walked her to the door. "Thank you for knocking sense into my head." He leaned against the frame.  
"Only for you," She smiled. For a moment they both remembered her kissing him on the cheek for the first time. Roy half expected her to kiss him again but as she leaned closer to him she noticed the way his young charge was watching them expectantly and pulled back. "Goodnight Officer Mustang." Her face was pink as she turned away.  
"Night Doctor Hawkeye," He called back before closing the door. _This whole situation complicates our already confusing relationship even more._ He hoped they figured it out soon. Because no matter what, he still loved her. Always had, always would.


	7. Adjusting

Monday came after an uneventful weekend in which Roy slept on the couch more than his bed and Elicia and Black Hayate watched over him. Shortly after Riza left that Friday afternoon Officers Havoc and Fuery came by with some comfort food they had gathered from the others at the precinct. Roy had smiled politely at the handful of casseroles and tupperware containers of soup. They'd only stayed long enough to help put the food in the fridge and make sure Elicia didn't need anything from the store.  
Riza arrived with her breifcase and a smile just after breakfast.   
Roy answered the door looking more like himself. He'd even combed his hair and was wearing a pair of slacks and a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He smiled at her in her pencil skirt and blouse, hair done up in it's usual bun with her sidewept bangs. Elicia grinned.   
"I was just going to take Elicia to school," Roy explained.   
"You feel up to driving?" Riza questioned.   
"Actually yes. I've been useless for almost three days and I figured a short drive wouldn't hurt," He explained.   
"Mind if I join you and watch?" The scientist asked.   
"Sure thing," Elicia answered before her uncle. She picked up her school bag and headed for the door. Roy snagged his car keys off the hook by the door and they all headed to the driveway. Hayate came with wagging his little tail and yipping at the door to Roy's small SUV.  
He'd taken shit when the guys made jokes about him being a parent and that he would end up buying a minivan. They'd conceded he wasn't a fool when he drove up in a Ford Explorer. He had traded in a sports car for something more safety oriented when the Hugheses had passed.  
"Is Hayate supposed to be coming?" Riza asked.  
"He always comes with." Roy shrugged. "He's attached to the girl and likes to see her off. The only time he doesn't get to is when Maria or Denny picks her up."   
They all got inside Riza taking shotgun. Roy slid in showing no signs of discomfort. In fact he seemed rather at ease. Even his movements had improved since she'd last seen him.   
Roy buckled up and turned on the ignition. Gripping the steering wheel he backed out and headed towards Elicia's school. Riza watched the suburban houses in the corner of her eye as she focused on Roy's body language and movement. He caught her watching intently. "See something you like?" He smirked.   
Elicia giggled from behind her. Riza sighed and rolled her eyes. "You are incorrigible. I'm merely observing how well you've adjusted so far."   
"Why don't you ask how I'm doing instead of staring at me while I'm driving?" He suggested.  
"Well how are you?" Riza replied with a shake of her head.  
"Pretty good actually. I think I'm wrapping my head around it finally. I didn't drop anything this morning, and the only thing I broke since I left the hospital was the alarm clock."   
"How does it all feel?"   
"Not so heavy anymore. And the headache finally went away but I still don't like the heads up display always in my vision. It can be distracting."   
Riza had pulled out her laptop and was typing this all down rapidly. "Anything else?"   
"Nope. Pain isn't really a problem and I'm sleeping fine."   
"He slept all day yesterday on the couch," Elicia provided as they pulled up to the school.   
"Hey!" He gave her a look as she gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Have a good day."   
"You too! Don't work him too hard Miss Riza," She called as she bounded away from the car. They left and headed back to the house.   
"So?" Roy asked.   
"Today we'll start with your fingers. There's a lot of control and finesse needed for those. More concentration than physical exhertion. Tomorrow we'll see about extensions." Riza looked at her therapy schedule.   
"You realize finesse isn't my strong point?"   
"Oh I know," Riza replied.   
Back at the house they went inside away from prying eyes. "Why didn't we go to your lab?"   
"Because I don't want you to feel anxious about others watching you."   
"Thanks."   
"Ok. So hands, each one has ten different tools you'll probably use quite a bit. Yes, some of them are inside your palms unless you're activating them." The scientist was grinning as she spoke. "In your right hand is a lighter, lazer, glass cutter, tweezers, toothpick, flashlight, master key, lockpick, pen, and screwdriver. In the left a 9mm barrel, taser, razor, bottle opener, metal file, knife blade, scissors, cologne spray, toothbrush, and collapsing comb. Think about one and it will automatically activate."   
Roy nodded then looked at his hands and with a shrug thought about the lighter. He started when his right thumb opened up spewing a small flame. He stared at it surprised he couldn't feel any pain. "Whoa," He murmured.   
"Good now smile for the camera." Riza turned her laptop so the back of the screen was facing him.   
"What?"   
"I'm recoding for research purposes. Try something else," She prompted.  
Roy imagined the lighter going away and his thumb closed back up. Then he thought about getting a good shave and he stared when the barber style razor slid from his left middle finger. "I don't think I want to shave with this," He said deactivating it.   
Then he activated the laser and a beam of red energy shot from his right index finger to burn a hole in the far wall. "Shit!" he moved instinctually his hand still shooting the laser which carved a destructive path up into the ceiling. Hayate whined as a chunk of plaster fell down on the floor beside him.   
"Shut it off!" Riza commanded.   
"I'm trying!" Roy was focusing as best he could on the beam stopping but he was also trying to avoid causing damage or injury. "Just stop," He growled at his hand. Finally the beam stopped and his finger closed. The cyborg sat back down in shock.   
Riza watched him silently.   
"I thought it would be like a pointer laser." He turned to her. "You might want to warn a guy that you put a weapons grade laser in their finger."   
"Noted." Riza gave a sheepish smile. "I'll pay for the damage," She promised.  
Hayate approached slowly scared of what the man had caused but seeking to ease the humans that smelled of fear and adrenaline. He jumped on Roy's lap and the man rubbed behind his ears careful to not apply too much force. The last thing he needed was to repeat what he'd done to the alarm clock with the dog's head. Elicia would never forgive him.

Roy showed pretty goood progress that first day. The next was a little harder. Riza took him to the lab after he took Elicia to school and they entered a very large room with a high ceiling. "This should be sufficient space."  
Her patient looked up. "That's what, two stories high?"   
"Yep." She looked up and then at Roy. "Your arms and legs will extend at will. Just try to focus on getting somewhere higher than you can." This time in slacks and a lab coat she looked much more the part of brilliant scientist.   
Roy took a few steps away from her and looked up at the ceiling. _I can't believe I'm doing this. _He willed his legs to grow. For a moment nothing happened at all and then he heard the sound of metal shifting. Eyes dropped to look at his feet as the rest of his body was lifted about ten feet or so. Gleaming metal tubing stuck out of his pant legs down to his shoes.  
Riza smiled. "Excellent." She gave him a thumbs up. He looked at her and saw just how high up he was. His leg extensions were about as long as twice the length of the woman.   
"How do I get back down?" Roy asked. He was thinking about shrinking back to normal height but it wasn't working.   
"Focus Roy, you're doing things no human brain is naturally capable of controlling," She answered. "Remember will not thought."   
Despite his focus and desire he remained elevated for a good hour. Edward Elric walked into the test lab took one look at the cyborg and grinned. "How's it going Mustang?"   
"He's stuck," Riza answered. "For some reason he just can't get his extensions to disengage. There might be a problem."   
"Oh?" The intern asked mildly amused. He and the officer had never gotten along well. While they both understood and respected the other they often got into petty matches when alone together.   
"It's not funny," Roy growled. "I'm getting tired up here."   
That wasn't a good sign. He was probably draining a lot of battery just trying to will his legs to go back to normal. Ed smirked. "I didn't think our project was to recreate sideshow freaks," He sniggered.   
Riza looked at her intern in confusion. Roy however seemed to understand the jibe and was instantly irritated by it. "Just you wait until I can come down there you ungrateful little twerp."   
"You still have to catch me first." The younger man made a rude gesture with his fingers and then turned for the door quickly.   
"Oh really." Roy took one step forward and his extensions finally released. He came back down to normal height fast his body slamming into place. For a moment he stood in shock. Riza winced and Ed smirked at the muffled sound of clanging metal. The cyborg blinked after his insides stopped shaking. "I'm not doing that again," He said with finality.  
Riza directed him in less awkward methods of acquainting himself with his new body. She jabbered on and on about the unique tools and even some weapons she'd managed to tuck in to god knew where. Roy was beginning to wonder just where the stuff she mentioned went.   
"Riz, can I ask a question?"   
"Anything." She gave him her full attention.  
"How much do I weigh now?" He was seated on the floor legs crossed as she explained just how many factory extras she and her father had come up with.  
A hand found its way to the back of her neck as she looked at her screen. "Well," She started. "Don't panic. But about two hundred and seventy." Roy stared at her in shock. The last time he'd been in for a routine physical he had weighed one sixty-five.   
"At least it doesn't show," He murmured.   
After that they talked about Edward and Alphonse who would be undergoing surgery in the next couple weeks to get them fitted with the bionic limbs now that they had proven successful.__


	8. An Invitation

Wednesday was a unique day becasue Riza explained that some of the more powerful tools were voice activated to prevent accidental damage.   
"No." Roy shook his head. "I would never say that aloud."   
"It's the program and you'll do it," She replied.   
"Make me."   
"Voice activation override code G15RM092H," She said clearly. Roy raised an eyebrow. "Go-go-gadget oil slick." She quickly stepped back knowing what was about to happen.  
When a metal tube protruded from a panel in his right arm and shot out a stream of oil his shock caused him to lose balance at the pressure and he tripped. Dark oil rained down in droplets on them both. Riza laughed as Roy struggled to get up from the floor. "Make it stop," He demanded as he slipped again and decided lying on the oily floor wasn't such a bad idea.  
"Stop," Riza commanded. "End override."   
"Why do you have that ability?" He asked from where he was on his back staring up at her.   
"As a precaution in case you're injured or malfunctioning," She replied simply. Then she leaned down and patted one oil covered cheek. "That wasn't so bad."

 

Before he left after getting some fresh clothes Riza offered him an envelope. "Mayor Grumman asked me to give you this."  
He took it and broke the wax seal on the grey paper. Inside was an invitation to a ball being held in his honor. Apparently being the first cyborg cop was a big deal to the city council and they were celebrating.  
"This Friday night? I don't even know where my tux is," He said. He'd suffered a few memory gaps from the last couple days before the explosion and it worried him.  
"I have it." He turned to look at her first in bewilderment and then in horror.   
"What did you do to my tuxedo?" There was a terror in his eyes that made the scientist want to hug him tight and reassure him that it wasn't so bad.   
"I modified it," She said.   
"Why?"  
"So you can wear it without it tearing or getting snagged if you use the tools you have. It hasn't been altered in appearance or fit at all," She promised.

 

Elicia looked wistful when he told her about the ball after school. Her green eyes gleamed with a far away air and she kept asking him questions regarding it.   
"Was it just you invited?"   
"Why, do you want to come?" Roy asked as they pulled into the drive.   
"But what about Miss Riza?"   
"She has her own invitation as the big scientist who put me together. I don't think she needs me to ask her," He said. The girl was very aware of his feelings for the mad woman scientist but he wasn't ready to make a move yet. Not with the stress of relearning his body.  
"How'd you like to be my date?" Roy asked.   
Her eyes widened and she grinned. "Really? I can come?"   
"Of course. We'll go dress hunting tomorrow after school," He promised. That night they ate homemade soup from Officer Catalina and discussed their day. 

Of course finding a dress had been easier said than done. It took a couple hours at the mall to find the right one. It ended up being a lime green satin gown with straps that went to her ankles. She already had fancy shoes, but now she had a fancy dress. Elicia twirled as she showed her uncle in the store.  
"You're right that is a good dress," Roy agreed. For a bachelor who didn't have any nieces and nephews of his own he had done surprisingly well at raising the girl. People had always expected him to end up being a creeper or just not put any effort into it.   
For the past seven years they had been family thrust together by pain and loss. And while he would never call himself her father, she never corrected strangers who used the term. Because it didn't matter what he was as long as he was there for her. Even if that meant he was a cyborg now.   
All the way home she smiled. Roy knew the last two weeks had been hard on her and there was nothing he could do about it. What he could do was make it up to her by taking her to the ball. Besides if she went then he had a reason to leave earlier than most and he had someone he could talk to if the event got boring. Roy knew how these shindigs went down with a Hawkeye present. Everyone wanted to hear from a brilliant scientist.   
Friday he had no therapy, Riza was being nice and wanted to give him a break.   
Which meant he had nothing to do for hours after he dropped Elicia at school. He did some readng for a little while, caught up on emails and blogs he followed, and even did some cleaning around the house.


	9. The Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finished writing this, which means I just have to post all the chapters. 18 in all. The last one was short but this one is kind of long so it evens it out.

Getting ready was a quick affair though Roy had to watch his fingers closely while buttoning up his shirt. As lifelike as the replicated hands were they still didn't have the sensory input necessary for small detail work. It made him glad he wasn't an artist. Despite minor issues like that he had begun to feel more and more like himself. Yes there were parts that were irrevocaby gone but he was still the same person and the more familiar he became with the bionic parts the less he felt like an alien.

Elicia helped him with the bow tie. She always did when events came up. As she tied the indigo satin she talked excitedly. "You should ask her to dance."   
"Her who?" Roy's eyes evaded hers. He knew exactly who she meant and just didn't feel like admitting it. The girl gave him a serious look.   
"You know who," Elicia chided.   
"I can't. It would be so kitchy for me to ask her to dance. I'm literally her experiment, what would everyone think?" The man asked.   
"I know how you feel about her Uncle Roy. It's not like she just now started noticing you. I just wish you'd stop avoiding the topic and figure it out," She sighed.  
"I know you do kiddo, but this adds a whole new complication. I'm her patient, she's my doctor. And while that may make it convenient it also makes it akward. Would you want to kiss someone if you knew they'd literally been inside your brain?"   
She made a face at this. "I guess I understand."  
"Besides I'm sure neither of us will have time for a dance."   
The last thing Roy did was comb his hair and slick it back. A formal ball was no place for his usual hairstyle. Elicia had put her hair into a bun. They hurried for the car Roy checking to make sure the invitation was still in his breast pocket. "Ok we're all ready to go." He got behind the wheel and then remembered cologne. "Darn," He knew if he ran back inside they might be late.   
"What?"   
"I forgot cologne." He rubbed his forehead. He'd learned the painful way not to smack it with his palm anymore.   
"Left hand ring finger," His niece supplied. Roy concentrated on that finger and was relieved when the little cologne vial stuck out of the opening. He dabbed some on his neck quickly.   
They arrived on time and were surprised when the valet took the car without charge, "We were informed you were a guest of honor." The young man who took his keys explained. The pair shrugged and headed inside. Roy handed her the valet ticket.   
"I won't lose it," She promised.  
Once inside they found themselves in a scene that reminded them of classic movie settings. Everything was elegant and very old school lounge. Everyone was dressed to the nines and waiters and waitresses wove through the crowd in bright red jackets. Champagne and cocktails sat on their trays. Roy was instantly offered a drink and he politely refused.   
He hadn't even tried alcohol yet. Up until Monday he had been on pain medication and after that he'd had no reason for the stuff. So for the moment he decided against chancing alcohol with his new body. Elicia grinned when a few teen boys in suits took notice. Roy eyed them a moment before Nina rushed up. "Elicia you're dress is gorgeous!" The young teen was in a dark grey satin gown without sleeves and a black valero jacket. A selection of the police force had been invited.  
"So is yours!" The two girls were suddenly off to enjoy the fun leaving Roy by himself.   
He shrugged and turned for the punchbowl to unstick his dry mouth. While sipping on the pink juice concoction someone came up behind him. He assumed it was Mayor Grumman.   
"All alone?" Riza's voice queried. He turned glass still against his lips and eyes wide. She giggled.   
Roy stared at the red satin dress clinging to her curves. At the hint of cleavage peaking from the low neckline and the diamond chandelier earrings she wore. Her hair was not in its usual bun but rather the top section had been pulled back in a jeweled clip and then the cascading lengths had been perfectly curled. Her bangs had been curled as well softening her normally sharp appearance.  
He felt himself doubting his resolve to not make tonight akward by getting too close. To keep from saying something he would regret he downed the punch throwing it back as if it were liquor. And instantly realized his mistake when his throat refused to take it all at once. Too late he remembered Riza telling him she had added sensors and reactive measures to prevent asphixiation or choking.   
The scientist gave him a sympathetic look as he stood there with a mouth full of punch. Admittedly he looked like a hamster happily stuffing its cheeks. He finally figured his dignity was already a corpse growing cold and spat the punch back into the plastic cup. All the while she smiled in amusement at his antics.   
He said nothing as he dropped the disposable cup into a garbage bin. So much for not making the evening akward. He sighed and raised an eyebrow waiting for the quip. "You really should give yourself more time to adjust." She offered instead of banter. "I already know how inept you are, we wouldn't want the rest of the world finding out." There it was.   
Roy made a face and sulked briefly at the remark. She always knew how to expose his short comings with just a few words. It was one of the few things about her he both loved and hated. Loved, because they could share back and forth banter that was almost vicious. Hated, for that exact same reason. Dexterity had been one of the traits fate had forgotten to bestow upon him. For that he cursed whatever higher power existed every day.  
"Roy," Riza murmured. "You want to sit down?"   
"Not particularly." He lost the petulant set of his face and gave her as neutral a look as he could.   
"How about a dance?" She asked. Her eyes lit up and she swayed ever so slightly. Despite his prior annoyance with her the provocative wriggle of her hips worked against his defenses and he shrugged helplessly.   
"Why not?" He forced a nervous smile. He wanted to avoid exactly what they were doing. Even so he let her lead him to the dance floor and then took her left hand in his right. His other hand he placed on her very warm hip. The music transitioned to a jaunty swing tune and Roy had to remember how to start off an East Coast Swing.   
Riza giggled at the first fumbled steps but grew serious when he suddenly found his footing. Dancing was a graceful act and while neither of them were well practiced in it, they at least knew the basics. For once Roy managed to remain calm and in control of his movements enough to seem more agile then he typically was. A genuine smile played at his lips as they moved closer then farther and took steps to their sides.   
As the closing notes of the song heralded the end of the dance Mayor Grumman appeared at their sides with a smirk and chuckled. "How cute, the creator and the creation." He winked at Riza and then bustled off to play nice with members of the city council.   
Roy slid his hands from hers and stalked off the dance floor. This time he went for the alcohol and took a sip from a martini as she watched silently. That meant it was ok to drink. If she felt it was dangerous she would have said something. Roy made a face at the burn of the vodka in his throat and then looked at her expectant face.   
"What?" He asked cooly.  
"You're upset," Riza said. "Do not deny it either."   
"Can't a man be upset every now and again?" Roy replied unwilling to give even an inch.  
"You were having a fantastic time dancing," She noted. "You know I don't think about you like that. I'm not god and you are not my creation. I saved you because you are my friend." She took the glass from him and took a sip for herself. "You know I'm not like that."   
"You I trust," He replied as she drained the cocktail. "But how much of the outside world is going to view us like that?"   
Riza winced. She often forgot Roy had a few issues with self esteem and how he viewed himself. "Does it matter? The only views that you should worry about are your own and the ones of your closest friends and family. Everyone else is just some random stranger."  
"Well I hope I'm not some random stranger." A grating but cultured voice broke in. The man had long black hair tied back with two thin locks hanging down over his face. His suit was entirely white down to the bowtie around his neck. Even his oxfords were white. It made Roy sick at the sight.  
"Kimblee," Riza acknowledged her rival in science. "What are you doing here?"   
"Oh you know me, came to see the sights." He eyed Roy up and down. "You certainly picked an interesting test subject."  
"Officer Mustang was the first person who volunteered." She patted his chest appreciatively. Roy felt his own body tighten at the presence of the Crimson Tech CEO. The man had built his empire in the genetics realm. Where Riza and her father had sought to use mechanical methods in bettering human life he had employed recombanant DNA splicing.   
"Lucky man," Kimblee noted.  
"Luck is for fools," Roy replied. Kimblee raised an eyebrow at the blatant disrespect then smirked. "I believe in choices," The cyborg added. Everyone in Central knew that Zolf J. Kimblee had been looked into multiple times for dubious research including experimentation on unwitting human subjects. Nothing unfortunately was ever proved.  
The other man laughed outright. "I'll bet you were a boy scout."   
Roy rolled his eyes then stepped back from the other two. "I think I need another drink." Riza nodded silently. She could hold her own with Kimblee, she'd wiped the floor with him a few times at science conventions.   
"Dr. Hawkeye would you join me in a dance?" Kimblee asked when Roy had put distance between them.   
"Actually no," The woman replied. "I'll talk research if that's what you want but I'm not really up to dancing right now."  
"Pity," The man replied. "I see the procedure was successful."   
"It was. There were a lot of variables when it came to an actual living human, but my team and I managed to pull it all together," Riza replied.   
"So you got your grants from the city now what?" Kimblee asked.  
"Now we start on the compassonate use campaign. The grants gave us a starting platform. I know of three people who are awaiting my work. After that it goes into trials. In five or six years I'll be cleared as an alternative option for patients and from there we should be able to revolutionize medicine. How is yours going?" Riza wasn't above putting Kimblee in his place.   
He smiled broadly. "You do good work. But isn't five or six years a bit long? If you wanted to end our silly rivalry we could always join forces and I could fund you to bypass the trial stage," He offered. "I'm close but not as close as you are. Perhaps we could help each other out?"   
He gave her a winsome smile and inclined his head to the side looking friendly and welcoming. But Riza would have been a fool to not see the serpentine snake behind the facade. "I still have to finish my contract with the city, and I don't want to damage my repore with the AMA by ignoring the rules. I'm not in this for capital Kimblee."   
The man's jaw stiffened in disapointment, "Well if that's how you feel," He replied.   
He hadn't stolen that arm just to steal her research. He'd done it to eliminate an enemy on his rise to creating perfect soldiers. The contracts he had with General Bradley were too marvelous to lose because his rival figured out super-soldiers faster than his own company. He had been unaware that Mustang had signed on as a volunteer. And now that he knew the officer had survived his explosion he was even more motivated to kill him. The problem was that Roy Mustang had survived the reconstruction and was now a walking cyber super cop. And he was a threat to Kimblee's ambitions.

At that point Roy, who had been discreetly listening in through use of the amplified hearing feature in his ears approached carrying two martinis. "Here you go Riza." He offered her one.   
She took it with a smile. "Thank you." Kimblee got the point and with a withering look at the other man he trotted off to find more amenable company. "Good riddance," Riza murmured.  
"Of all the stuck up, egotistical, megalomaniac stunts." Roy tapped his glass with hers.   
"You were eavesdropping?" The scientist asked both impressed with his use of her technology and perturbed that he hadn't trusted her to handle Kimblee on her own.   
"Only to make sure he didn't insult you on your big night. This is your victory." He took a sip.  
"Oh so now you're my victory?" She asked.  
He sighed in satisfaction of the drink, "I think you and I get to decide what we are to each other. And tonight I'm your victory, success, call it what you want."   
"My greatest acheivement?" Riza suggested.  
"Just don't call me your failure." He grinned.  
Grumman finally found them for photos and grandiose speeches right before dinner was served. Riza's table was small in comparison to the ones the other attendees were seated at. It was a small round table that she, Roy, Elicia, Mayor Grumman, Kimblee, and Chief Armstrong were assigned to.   
Elicia grinned as Roy pulled her chair out for her. "Thank you."   
Roy had turned hoping to get Riza's as well but Kimblee had already pulled it out. Everyone knew if Riza refused it she would only look like a conceited asshole on her celebratory evening. So she politely took the seat with a terse "Thank you Kimblee."  
After that it was a lot of boring discussion that Roy, Elicia, and Olivier had no understanding of. Kimblee and Riza kept up a discourse on the basic programming of Roy's life support and auxillary systems. Grumman listened intently as though he understood.  
"When do we get you back?" Armstrong asked. She may not have liked Mustang's personality but she valued the work and effort he brought to the precinct.   
"Not sure, Hawkeye wants to ensure there's no problems and that I heal up completely. My guess is a few more weeks at least," Roy replied ignoring Kimblee's blatant flaunting of his scientific understanding.   
"Dam it, I could use you on the streets right about now. We have a few recurring problems cropping back up. And there's word that the infamous Scar has been seen in the city," Olivier replied in disapointment.   
Roy nodded. That sounded like a lot of work and a case that he would want to be dealing with.   
By the time the night was close to being over Roy was falling asleep at the table and Riza could see it. Elicia too. The twelve year old yawned dramatically. "Uncle Roy I'm tired."   
He knew this was a ruse meant to get him home. He also knew that his body was still recovering and this much excitement was a little exhausting. With a nod he stretched and rose from his chair. "Everyone I thank you, but Elicia needs to get home." No one argued or pointed out that it was really so he could rest and they left quietly.   
"Roy!" Riza's call stopped them outside the building.   
"Yes?" He asked not turning.   
"Get some rest." She walked around and intended to shake his hand. Roy surprised her by giving her a hug instead. It was quick and short lived but a camera flash still went off in the dim night.   
"See you," Roy murmured as the valet returned his car. They climbed in and Riza stood and watched it pull away a warm feeling in her chest. Roy hadn't hugged her since they'd split after highschool. It made her feel young and light.


	10. Roller Coasters

Kimblee was angry. Darius wasn't a man of impeccable brains like he was but he knew when a man had been flat out rejected by a woman. Even if the terms had been strictly business.   
"We need a new plan. Hawkeye has her win. We have to find a way to take it from her. I can't have her stand in the way of my glory. I thought if we stole her research and killed her no account father we'd cripple her. Instead I've spurned her to accomplish the impossible. I want Marcoh on the phone. I don't care if it's his day off. Get me that coward."   
Darius nodded. "Right away." Darius was one of those unwitting human experiments that had been cooked up at Crimson Tech. Once a normal man he'd been exposed to a genetic augmentative process and infused with gorilla DNA. This had the desired effect of making him powerful and having better instincts. But he also had a bit of the ape's appearance now. And while it wasn't too overpowering the military would only take altered soldiers that held a purely human appearance. So until those idiots Marcoh and Gold Tooth (a nickname Kimblee had given him) figured out where the Chimera program was failing they were losing to the Hawkeye Institute.  
Marcoh's aging voice gave way to his sleep deprived state. "What?"  
"Dr. Kimblee wants you in his office as soon as possible."   
"Of course he does. I'll be there shortly. I don't know what he wants we're still working on the process." The line died. 

 

Riza Hawkeye grinned as she took the blindfolded Roy Mustang by the hand to her office. She positioned him in front of a mirror. "Now just try and warm up to it." She pulled the cloth from his eyes.  
Roy stared at his reflection silently. The black trench coat was a realtively classic staple and the blue slacks weren't a problem. But the dated grey fedora was too much. There was an ostentatious amount of weight in the coat and hat that hinted at Riza's extravagance for detail.  
He reached for the hat to pull it off but it was stuck on tight. He grasped it with both hands. "Why won't it come off?" He pulled on the brim.  
"Because it's currently magna-sealed to your head," She answered.  
"What?" He stopped tugging at the accessory to give her a confused frown. With a smile she reached over and tapped the front of the hatband twice. There was a release of pressure on his head and he pulled it off easily.   
"The hat has to remain stuck to you if you're going to use the transportation or defense modes programmed into it," Riza explained as if this were a common practice in society.  
Roy looked at the hat silently. He could see the value of defensive measures. But what the heck kind of transportation could be in a hat? _I don't even want to know. _He shook his head. "I won't wear it," He promised.  
"You should. It looks good on you."   
"It's a fedora. And it's a bit on the heavy side."   
"That's the built in tech. You do want to see what it can do don't you?" Riza had that gleam. The one that spoke of pushing the boundaries of physics, engineering, and sanity all at once. He shivered.   
"Actually I don't think I do. I'm still trying to get over the cell-phone in my left hand." Roy may have been harboring feelings for the outrageous scientist but even he had a limit on how much of her brilliant work he could handle.   
"It's voice activated like the heavy duty auxilary systems. And the hat has a helicopter feature that's perfect for getting to and from places quickly."   
"You do realize I don't know how to fly a drone let alone a helicopter?" Roy asked.  
"Nonsense. You'll learn. A program added to your neural interface offers a latent ability to pick up the operational knowledge for police and military equipment in just minutes."   
"I think I need a break." Roy rubbed his tired eyes.   
"Ok," Riza offered.  
Of course a break to Riza was twenty minutes of coffee and diagnostics. Then they went right back into the process of integrating the knowledge of the gadget program to Roy's brain. Because the better he understood it the less likely it was to fail him.__

__

__Elicia grinned and took a look at her Uncle's new duds. "I like."  
"Wait until you see the new car." Riza beamed. Elicia had just been dropped off by Maria and Nina.   
"What car?" Roy and his neice asked at the same time.   
_Oh crap she's made me a car now. I bet it's like KITT, no wait the last thing I want is a talking car. _"Please tell me it doesn't talk."  
"You don't think I'd be that silly?" Riza looked mildly offronted.   
"Just double checking."   
The car was delivered the next morning. Just in time for a Sunday test drive. It was a sleak blue Ford Mustang. Roy's jaw dropped at the classic car sitting in his driveway next to the more practical SUV. "Um Riz?"   
"I know, it was something a friend of mine had lying around. We restored and suped it up over the last couple months. Daddy thought a spy car would be a fun touch." Riza was watching with eager eyes.  
Elicia rushed to the car to take a look. "This thing is awesome. Can we try it out?" The girl bounced on her toes as both girls turned the works on him. From Elicia came the puppy eyes, which were his kryptonite. And from Riza the calm but demanding look that blasted a hole in his defenses in mere seconds.   
"Alright," He conceded. In truth he wanted behind the wheel of the car if only for the satisfaction of classic American muscle. Riza tossed him the keys and they all got in.   
The dashboard was a puzzle of buttons and switches. "You'll find the manual in the glove compartment. But for now drive it like it's a normal car," She instructed.   
That was easy since the gauges, standard controls, and normal features were easily recognized. The shift however was not the expected stick. "Auto transmission since you'll be using this in high speed chases and to get to situations quickly," Riza supplied.  
"You love making things work better don't you?"  
"It is my job." She waggled her eyebrows.  
"Ok you two can we go now?" Elicia begged.   
Roy pulled out and away they went. The engine while still being automatic and new held that traditional rumble. But it didn't quite sound like a car motor.   
"There wouldn't be a jet engine in this thing right?" Roy asked at a stoplight.  
"A smaller one, but yes."  
"So how fast can this thing go?" He paled at the thought of incedible speeds.  
"Oh, fast enough," She replied vaguely.   
Elicia giggled. "Come on Uncle Roy floor it!"   
Against his better judgement he did as his niece asked and pushed the speed a little hard while on the highway. The constant info in his vision changed to show him the best route through the slower moving cars. A dialogue box asked for a destination. Roy thought about the local arcade and amusement park. It was the first place that came to his mind. Suddenly he was following the marked out path.   
Once off the freeway and on surface streets the high speed travel guide vanished. "Roy?" Riza asked. "Why are we at Central Fun Park?"   
"It was the first place I thought of," Roy replied simply.  
"How do you like the travel guide?" Riza changed her tune.  
"It's useful."   
"What travel guide?" Elicia asked.   
Roy tapped the side of his head. "It's part of the heads up display in my eyes."   
"Oh that's cool. We got here in seven minutes." She pointed to the dashboard clock.   
"Seven minutes? Why weren't we pulled over?" Roy looked at Riza knowing she would have an answer.   
"Once you pass the local speed limits a radar scrambler automatically activates. You won't get caught unless you disable the scrambler." The scientist was grinning. "Now come on I have more cool stuff to show you."   
"But I wanna go ride the roller coaster," Elicia begged. Roy met her eyes through the rear view mirror and winked. "Please!"   
"I don't know," Roy started.   
"We have a lot of work to get done." Riza added.  
"But it does sound fun," He said. He parked the car and got out. Elicia followed instantly.   
Riza looked at them both. "Well at least he's behaving normally. I guess I would worry if he didn't shirk duty for a little fun." She climbed out and the car locked instantly. Roy looked at the keys in his hand. "It has a sensor in the seats, as soon as there's no living organisms inside, the car locks automatically."  
Roy bought the tickets to Riza's ire and smiled as he handed her the paper wristband. "My treat."   
"Thank you Uncle Roy." Elicia gave the older woman a meaningful look. It wasn't lost on the scientist. Elicia obviously saw this as some sort of impromptu date.  
Riza frowned in thought, _It does seem like a pretty classic first date scenario. He chose this place and then bought my ticket. He's also really calm and collected. He's never this suave when he's aware of romantic inclinations. He doesn't even realize what he's done. _Being the good friend she was she promised herself she would do everything in her power to keep Roy from thinking about this adventure as a date.  
After a few safe rides Elicia dragged them to the roller coaster. "Come on!"   
Roy blanched a little at it. "Uh maybe I shouldn't. We have no clue what all that shaking and dropping can do to me." In his eyes shone a fear that very few ever saw.   
"Nonsense, I made sure you could withstand turbulent trauma ten times worse than anything a roller coaster can dish out," Riza assured. She knew very well that he was terrified of big fast carnival rides. The year they had tried dating in highschool had taught her that.   
"Thanks," Roy grumbled as they took him by the hands and pulled. For a minute he contemplated letting his hands extend away from him but then he'd draw a crowd. At the entrance to the line he made one desperate attempt at escape. "I'll buy you two whatever you want just don't make me ride that death trap. I hate roller coasters, you know that Riz."   
He stopped dead just short of the line. Elicia and Riza were pulled back by his sudden halt. Roy now had a lot of extra weight he could use to his advantage. Riza glared at the smirking officer. "Come on Roy it won't kill you."   
"Maybe not, but I'm still not riding it," Roy replied calmly.   
"Please, just once?" Elicia pleaded. A few people had stopped to watch, most people loved it when someone panicked outside of a ride.   
"I said I'm not riding that thing. You two can go with out me."   
"Chicken!" A couple teens crowed as they hurried into the queue.   
"Some dad you are!" A big burly guy chortled.   
"Toots, your man there is as yellow as a canary," A sleazy older man murmured.   
Roy huffed a sigh and glared at the ride. "Fine I'll go!" He snarled. Elicia cheered but Riza looked at the crowd in disgust. They'd basically pressured him into going.   
"You really don't have to Roy," Riza said.   
"Maybe your boyfriend isn't as chicken as we thought," A pretty little woman said to her. Roy froze at this. They weren't dating. He wasn't anyone's boyfriend. Hadn't been in a really long time. Elicia and Riza used his shock to push him through the snaking pathway until they reached the end of the line.   
Riza knew this was going south fast. "This isn't a date is it?" Roy murmured. He hadn't intended it to be. The last time they'd tried a date was shortly after she and her father moved to Central to start their facility. Roy had been a rookie then and eager to impress the scientist. The dinner had been successful, but when they had gone to the local ice rink on a pond his ability to create chaos where none existed struck and Riza ended up in an ambulance soaked after he'd managed to break the ice and get her submerged.   
He'd sworn off dating Riza since then. No matter how much the distance hurt him he always said it was to protect her.   
"Of course not," Riza replied giving Elicia a stern look. "We're just here to test if cyborgs can get motion sickness.   
Roy rolled his eyes but relaxed.   
The line moved fairly quickly and soon they were climbing in. Riza would have sat alone but Elicia pushed her towards the man with them. "You should ride with him so you can observe how he does."   
Elicia smiled to herself. All this time they were getting to spend together was bound to make them realize how perfect they were for each other. Roy never told the scientist no. And Riza had worked herself to exhaustion to save his life.   
Now if only they would open their eyes to see the fantastic romance they shared. The twelve year old girl and her friends often discussed Roy and his not girlfriend. They all agreed the two made a cute couple._____ _


	11. An Overdue Return

Riza was mildly impressed. Even her state of the art technology was no match for Roy's natural proclivity to generate disaster. He got the ride shut down for an hour for cleaning. "Cyborgs can get motion sickness," Elicia said with a giggle. She and Riza were watching Roy as he sat on a bench looking miserable.   
"Not funny," Roy muttered.   
"But it did give me some insights to my program's limitations. I can't shut off your body's ability to get rid of potientially dangerous ingested substances. So there's no way to prevent you from getting stomach sick no matter what. I had hoped the inertial dampeners would help but they're intended for structural protection not puke resistence." The scientist offered a soothing hand on his back. When he didn't flinch away she smiled at Elicia then gave her some cash. "Get yourself a treat but make sure to get your Uncle some water."  
The girl nodded running to the concession stand just a few feet away. Riza kept her eyes on the girl knowing better than to worry Roy. He was an adorable overprotective father figure but she didn't think he needed added stress right now.  
"Sorry," He murmured.   
"Not your fault," Riza assured a bit of a smile curling her lips.   
Fortnately the rest of the afternoon was quiet but Riza ended up driving back to Roy's so he could rest. Then she stayed for dinner and Roy drove her home. 

 

Marcoh finally figured it out. In a matter of days the new gene serum was ready and the batch of test subjects were looking just fine. Not only were they human in appearance they could revert to a more beastly visage at will. This meant Kimblee's contracts would be filled in no time.   
"I've finally got my program perfected. Yes General, human soldiers with super human abilities. That's right. The Gadget Project? You know technology has a way of malfunctioning for no good reason. But a trained animal has triggers we learn to avoid. Yes General. You'll have whatever you desire. Excellent."   
Kimblee hung up and laughed. "Good news team, we have our contract!"  
Marcoh and Gold Tooth nodded in relief. "I should get back to testing the subjects for any unwanted side effects," Marcoh said turning to leave the office. Kimblee just nodded. Marcoh exited quietly the door shutting softly behind him. Gold Tooth grinned widely.   
"I need Hawkeye's good name sundered," Kimblee told him. "I don't care what methods you use or how horrifying it is. I want that piece of junk Mustang off the streets. Our regenerative serum is going into phase three and I need it to be the only viable option. These mechanical organs can't be released to the market before the serum is green lit."  
"You remember the phase one test subjects?" The wild eyed man asked eagerly.   
"Yes," Kimblee turned to look at him curiously.   
"Codenamed Envy?" The mad man asked with a wicked grin.   
"Envy, he had control over his molecules to the point he could impersonate others," The white clad CEO mused. His narrow eyes widened when the idea struck him. "Genius. We'll use Envy to paint Mustang as a malfunctioning threat to society! Hawkeye will be forced to pull the plug on him or face never working in the science field again."   
Gold Tooth nodded eagerly at the plan.   
"Get me Envy, and have Pride and Lust on standby. I want to bait Mustang to his own demise if I can. The General will be most interested in this turn of events. Hawkeye isn't controlled by anyone which means she'll destroy the pharmeceutical industry. No one wants that," Kimblee said with a wave of his hand.   
Gold Tooth bustled out of the office a maniacal grin on his aging face. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roy stepped into the precinct feeling mostly back to normal. He still felt awkward at times, but he was getting comfortable with his bionic modifications. Fuery looked up as he strode towards the desk and grinned. "Hey look, Mustang is back!"   
The whole room turned to see him standing halfway into it. Havoc, Catalina, Breda, and Ross all grinned instantly. "Whoo!" A number of officers shouted happily. Whether they liked Mustang as a person or not they had all been dreading the idea of going to a fellow officer's funeral.   
Roy felt the color rise to his cheeks. "It's not really that big of a deal," He assured.  
"Nonsense! We were gonna lose you, and here you are thanks to Hawkeye's quick thinking. Now go see Armstrong, she has a special case for you." Havoc patted his shoulder then nudged him towards the woman's office.   
Roy gave his friends a smile and then hurried into the much quieter room. He shut the door behind him and looked at Chief Armstrong who was looking over some case files. "You're early Mustang," She said in leu of a greeting.  
"Hawkeye cleared me for full duty yesterday. I figured my return would be a welcome surprise." Roy stood at attention in front of her desk. He knew better than to sit without permission.   
"You aren't wrong." The woman gave him her full attention and gestured to the empty chair across from her. Roy nodded and sat down quickly. "There's a few hiccups in the Hawkeye Murder case. Whoever killed Berthold Hawkeye was aware that the police had connections to them and were ridiculously thurough in leaving no clues. The animal you supposedly killed disintegrated before it got to the lab. There was nothing left to study but a bag of dust. And either our equipment is failing or the animal was some hybrid cross-species. We are waiting for more data."  
Roy's shoulders slumped at this. "And I have such vague memories of the incident that any thing I offer is questionable at best."  
"Indeed. For now I want you on Scar. The scientist murdering zealot is back in town and I have a feeling he'll turn his attentions towards Hawkeye and Kimblee shortly. That is a very bad situation. As much as I dislike Kimblee as a person he hasn't been proven guilty of any crimes. I've informed both facilities to protect their people. You get this." She lifted a huge folder of incident reports and sightings.   
"I'll get right on that," Roy promised taking the folder.   
"Also, you'll get Havoc for a partner on this case. I don't want you facing a man with that many murders under his belt alone. Cyborg or not you're still a valuable member of this team."   
Roy almost stopped at these words but he simply nodded. "Thank you Chief." He left the room in search of Havoc. At least the man was someone he got along with.   
Havoc was waiting for him outside. "She won't admit it but the Chief is really glad to have you back," Havoc said as they headed for their desks.  
"Who is Breda's partner right now?" Roy asked.   
"Nina's adoption anniversary is next week, Brosh took it and this week off," The blond reminded.   
"That's right this year is his turn. Only two weeks?"   
"Maria said Nina's getting better at dealing with her PTSD. Also we have some shitty stuff going on in Central. This week alone we've had a dozen witnesses claim to see 'Scar'. As usual it's just simple passing's by and no one has any clue where he was going or if he had anything worth remembering on him."  
"Let's start witht the file and see where that get's us," Roy suggested. They sat at two desks facing each other and began reading through the information. To his surprise the cyber-cop found his HUD was at least useful at noticing patterns and repeating words and phrases. He tallied the repeated info up in his head and how many times certain behavioral patterns came up.  
Soon they were working on some leads.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Codename Envy was a human experiment from the regenerative serum phase one trials. The serum was often called 'the philosopher's stone' to keep it's true purpose relatively secret. The serum had been Marcoh's shining work, a serum that allowed the human body to restore damaged tissue at an unusually fast rate.   
It also had some unique and unexpected side effects. Like giving the phase one trial members super-human capabilities. The original batch consisted of seven subjects, General Bradley having been one of them. Each one had a power not natural to human physiology. Envy had perhaps one of the most useful.   
The man could change his body at will to mimic the appearance of anyone he had ever seen. Including the cyber-cop who had recently returned to duty.   
Kimblee smiled at the thin man in a black crop top and skort. "I hope you see the value in this endeavor?" The man asked.  
"Of course, you want me to parade as that freak of science and get him arrested or worse, turned off. I get to wreak a little havoc on this pathetic city and you get him out of the way. Sounds fun." Envy grinned widely before his body undulated and shifted until he looked just like Roy Mustang.   
"How's this?" He even sounded like the cyborg.   
"I look forward to seeing what you can cook up," Kimblee replied with a smirk. "He won't know what's going on."


	12. Unexpected Twists

Riza Hawkeye was at Roy Mustang's home the night things first went south. She had come over to 'see how Roy was doing now that he was working again'. In all honesty she had enjoyed the proximity of the last few weeks. Now that he was back to his usual routine she was feeling a little lonely. She blamed it on her father's passing. Which she hadn't gotten over yet. She didn't even properly grieve yet, not with all her work to save Roy and preparing to put Alphonse through a partial reconstruction.   
Roy stepped into the living room and stared at the blond woman on his couch. "Riz, is something wrong?" He asked.   
The woman shook her head, "I just wanted to see how you are feeling after a week of work," She explained her presence.   
"Did Elicia let you in?" He asked a knowing gleam in his eyes. Riza just nodded and then sighed heavily. Maybe she needed to talk. And while it was unfair to make Roy shoulder that burden he was the only one who would truly understand her. After all not many of her friends had really known her father and fewer still had comprehended her devotion to her work.   
Roy sat down beside her and reached for her hand. "Something's bothering you," He murmured.   
"I guess I was so hell-bent on saving your life I didn't grieve my father's passing. This week has been calmer than it has since the night he was murdered. The facility is quiet without him. I don't know," She managed before a sob escaped. She shuddered and looked up at him with glassy eyes.   
"You're lonely," He surmised. She just nodded and he pulled her against his chest. Giving up on her dignity she let her emotions run their course. Here she knew it was safe to let her barriers fall. Roy would pass no judgement on her for needing his comfort as a friend.   
For a long while he just held her content to be a stalwart shoulder for her to cry on. Elicia saw them from behind and hurried away intent not to ruin the moment.   
After her tears had dried she listened to Roy's heartbeat. It should have startled her, the sh-shunk of his new hydraulic replacement, but she knew that what his physical heart was made of had no bearing on his metaphorical one. That was the one she had learned to trust over the years, the heart she could not touch but she could see through his actions.   
"I'm sorry I was such a project for you, I took all your focus for a good chunk of time," Roy said when he noticed she'd stoped crying. His shirt was soaked and clung to his chest but he didn't mind. For Riza he would never mind being her confidant and friend.   
"Nonsense I couldn't handle losing you too. Plus I think I needed a reason to work right away. I might have let the grant run out if you hadn't volunteered," Riza spoke against his shoulder. Her breath was warm.   
"Riza," Roy began but she shushed him with a finger to his lips.   
"Your life was important to me, more important than I ever imagined it would be. I think maybe I realize you're a bigger part of it now. A part of it I hadn't thought I wanted," She admitted.   
"What are you saying?" Roy asked. He was quite sure he understood her, but he wanted to be sure.   
"I think we should try a date sometime." She pulled away from him. Her face was red and blotchy, her eyes bloodshot and swollen, but he would have said she was beautiful even like that. Because she was.  
Roy's brain faltered on a response and he momentarily wondered if something had shorted inside. Then he looked into her chocolatey eyes and he moved without thinking. Tenderly his hands clasped her head as he leaned forward until his forehead rested against hers. Silently he brought his lips to hers, noses brushing together, and kissed her.   
Riza didn't even flinch having already anticipated Roy's reaction. They stayed like that for a few seconds. Roy pulled away opening his eyes in surprise. Riza gave him a small smile.   
"I haven't made dinner yet," Roy stated. "You could stay?"   
Riza nodded her thanks. 

 

The next morning Roy found the precinct in an uproar. There were a few officers from another precinct demanding someone. Havoc, Breda, Catalina, Ross, and Fuery were arguing with the visitors.   
"We're not handing him over because of some half-baked accusations!" Havoc shouted.   
"He's not a threat to anyone," Ross growled.   
"He's a menace and we demand he be brought out for a discusion right now!" Lieutenant Hakuro yelled.   
"Who?" Roy asked in confusion. He wanted to know what was going on. A lot of eyes whirled on him some in relief and worry, others in outrage.   
"How dare you!" Hakuro shouted.   
"Mustang get to Armstrong's office now!" Havoc warned catching the Lieutenant. The two men fell to the ground.   
Roy backed away watching the other officers warily.   
He hurried for the office tripping over his own feet once and managing to stay upright as he opened the door and slipped in shutting the door behind him.   
"I want to know what happened last night," Oliver's voice demanded calmly.   
"Why do they want me?" Roy asked slumping into the chair before her desk.   
"What did you do last night?" The woman repeated her question sternly.   
"I left after my shift and went home, took a shower, found Riza Hawkeye in my living room wanting to talk, she stayed for dinner, I made prime rib and a salad, she left at about eight pm. I made sure Elicia got to bed and then did so myself." Roy looked at her in confusion.   
"You don't know anything about a couple of hospitalized officers from Hakuro's Precinct?"   
"What?" Roy asked in shock. "Why would I know about that?"   
"You've been accused of brutally attacking two officers and leaving them injured in an alley at eleven pm last night," Armstrong explained. "Do you have proof you were home last night?"   
"I have Elicia and Hawkeye as witnesses and I have a diagnostics record that started running at nine. I can't stop the program once it's started. Riza can send you the data," Roy offered.   
"Well that is handy. I'm glad to hear you have some counter evidence. I'll call them in." Armstrong picked up her phone.  
Roy was still unsure of what was happening. When Riza arrived she looked insanely offended.   
"Chief Armstrong what's wrong?" She looked at Roy still seated in the woman's office.   
"Someone thinks Officer Mustang beat two cops from another precinct senseless," She growled. She may not have liked Mustang as a person, but she valued him as a member of her team. He did a good job, and despite his status as a family man, he remained dedicated to his work.   
"I was with him last night. I even have evidence he was home all last night," Riza replied instantly. Her eyes flashed. Roy was a good man, a compassionate man. There was no way he would beat up cops, even if they had been bought by criminals he would present them to judgement in a civilized manner.   
After Armstrong and eventually Hakuro examined the evidence and questioned the poor cop further he was found innocent of the accusations.   
"Don't think this is a free pass Mustang!" Hakuro warned before leaving. "I will be watching very closely. I don't trust this whole gadget project bullshit." With that he stormed out.   
"Well, your day has been wasted thus far," Armstrong sighed, "Go find Havoc and get something done on the Scar case," She ordered.   
Roy was up and out in an instant. "Yes Sir," He replied before vanishing.   
The Chief gritted her teeth. "I'll be dammed if one of mine goes bad, and I'll handle the problem myself."


	13. House Arrest

Riza managed to get the so called evidence on the grounds of Roy was her responsibility and she needed to ensure something hadn't gone terribly wrong. The footage was from a stop-light camera and it showed a blurry figure similar to Mustang walk by, look right at the camera, and then vanish. A few minutes later he returned with two officers right on his tail. Once in full camera view he stopped and let the cops have at him. Except the figure moved too fast to be normal. Without warning his arm reached a length no natural limb could reach. But she realized that this look-alike had failed. It wasn't the hand that extended from the wrist, the whole arm stretched, sleeve included.   
She pointed this out to Armstrong, using her own footage from Roy's therapy sessions to show the other woman the difference. "Right here, this man's whole arm stretches as though it's made of elastic. Even his clothing stretches," Riza said.   
Armstrong sat back and nodded. "So someone doesn't want you getting glory for your successful reconstruction of Mustang. What I want to know is how it's possible for the man in the video to do that and why he looks like one of my officers."   
"As do I."   
Armstrong made a face, "tch." She rubbed her eyes and then looked at the scientist. "Tell no one that you know it's a fake. I want this bastard to think he's making headway. We'll keep Mustang aprised of the situation, but I want to catch whoever is impersonating an officer."   
Riza nodded, "Of course Chief. I'll work on some failsafes in case they intend to do something to Roy."   
"Don't let your emotions slip so much, we wouldn't want your enemies to use your feelings for him against you," Olivier replied. Riza's eyes widened and she pursed her lips as she nodded. She'd have to make sure she reigned her emotions in. 

 

Kimblee laughed when his informant from Hakuro's precinct told him about the incident. "So Hakuro's thrown the first punch then?"   
"Yes Mr. Kimblee. It seems he has a personal vendetta against Mustang." The man smirked at this.   
"Alright then, I guess we picked the right starting point," The scientist grinned and dismissed the cop. He picked up a phone, "Send in Envy," He said.  
When the man arrived a minute later Kimblee grinned at him. "Good news, you picked a good starting point. However you were sloppy. I have some video here that shows you got one part wrong." He played the camera footage of the fght. "Only his hand from the wrist extends. It's a mechanical process. Where your body has become a magnificent weapon naturally, his has been manufactured," He explained.   
"I thought I might have had something off," Envy shrugged.   
"Make sure you get it right. This wasn't so bad the frst time, but we need to make the citzens believe the very cyber-cop their taxes paid for is a threat." Kimblee rose from his desk and stalked around his office. "I need Riza's work out of the picture. The problem is that Mustang is now state funded. If he becomes an unparalleled success the rest of the world will catch on and my genetics research will seem like second fiddle. We have to paint Mustang as dangerous as we can. I want people to think his brain couldn't handle the fusion to a computer and he's gone berserk."   
"I'll fix it for the next round," Envy promised in his grating voice. "I'll leave them no reason to doubt."   
"Good," Kimblee purred.

 

Roy awoke to find Havoc at his house a little pale and harrowed looking. "Havoc?"   
"Inside," The blond man was on his doorstep and brushed past Roy into the house. "I'm here on Armstrong's orders. You aren't to leave the house today. Ross is waiting to take Elicia to school, but for now we have to ensure you are secure."   
Roy's heart plummeted. "Another incident?"   
Havoc nodded looking at his feet. "Apparently you set fire to a handful of buisnesses in Hakuro's jurisdiction and then beat up a whole bunch of gang members. Two of the punks are in critical condition," He answered.   
"Dammit, but I was here all night. I'm not going crazy Havoc," He pleaded.  
"That's why I'm here. We're going to keep close watch and ensure you aren't a threat. It's Armstrong's way of appeasing Hakuro until we figure out what's going on."   
"Ok fine," Roy sighed. He saw Elicia off waving to the girl as she climbed in Ross's truck.   
Havoc sat with him at the table and they talked over coffee. "Hawkeye is sending Edward to run some diagnostics later on," he said.   
"She's sending the kid cause he gets under my skin. If anyone could flip a switch in me it would be him," Roy admitted.   
"Which is why I'll have to watch, privacy isn't a thing right now."   
"Trust me I've done enough house arrests to know how this goes."  
They shared a laugh at that. Even if Roy was under observation for uncontrolable violence he was still a fellow officer and friend. The two had known each other a long time now. And even suspicion couldn't dampen the comaraderie of two police men. 

 

Edward arrived at eleven while Roy and Jean were playing cards. The young man came in a perturbed look on his face. "I hope this turns out to be some kind of attack on our work and you haven't lost it. Alphonse needs to not be stuck in an exoskeleton," He mumbled as he set up.   
"I'm sorry Edward, I don't want this to happen to any of you. To me, I'm being called a threat. I could lose Elicia," The officer returned.   
"It's shitty all the way around. Officer Alex Armstrong has been at the facility watching for that scientist murderer. I just hope things don't get worse." He motioned for the cyborg to have a seat and let him get started. "At this rate Al's surgery has been pushed back a week,"   
"Then prove my innocence," Roy sat before the younger man and let him connect his tools.


	14. What's Really Going On

After two hours Ed found nothing even slightly off. Mustang's programs were undamaged and virus free, his brain waves showed no recent strain or unusual activity, and the system showed no skips in memory or sleep patterns. "Well, nothing's wrong program wise. And to delete data you'd need Hawkeye's access codes and I know she won't give you those," Ed looked stumped.   
"Is there anything else to check?" Roy asked. He wanted answers as much as everyone else did.   
"I can check the other stuff Hawkeye's made for you, make sure something in that hat or your dock isn't screwing you up." Roy waved Ed to his bedroom.   
"By all means check everything," He sighed and turned to the officer who was quietly sipping coffee in the dining room trying not to think too much about where bionic computer programs fit into the human body.   
"This sucks for you worse than for me," Havoc muttered. No one on the force liked house arrests.  
"Tell me about it."  
A few minutes later Ed reappeared. "Nothing," He growled. "Hawkeye is still convinced it's some shitty replication. Except the new footage shows it has gotten more accurate."   
Roy clenched a fist in annoyance. "But why do they want to drag Hawkeye through the mud? She has a lot riding on this whole program succeeding. The only person who I could even imagine doing this is," He paused as a horrific realization dawned on him.   
"Who?" Edward asked.   
"Kimblee. He's the only bastard who would be willing to completely demolish another scientist to reach the top. And he's the only one with enough brains to fabricate a believable fake." Roy stood up his mind now turning.   
"It's a possibility," Havoc agreed. "I'll ask Armstrong to get Kimblee named a suspect in this."   
Edward made a face, "I hate that second rate fraud. If he ruins Alphonse's chance because of some power struggle I will literally mop the floor with him." With that the young scientist headed out leaving the two cops alone.   
When Elicia arrived home from school Roy managed to talk to her alone while Havoc relieved himself. "Elicia, I think I know who's framing me."   
The girl's eyes narrowed. "Kimblee right? He hates Hawkeye and he's just as smart." Roy nodded. "You should go then." Elicia urged.   
"Not tonight. I want to stay here all night with a guard so that if another incident crops up we can prove someone is setting me up," Roy answered. "If nothing happens tonight I'll go and see what I can dig up."   
Elicia nodded. Proof without breaking the law would be better, but if Kimblee wasn't playing fair Roy would have to do the same. The rules sometimes protected the guilty as much as the innocent.  
Elicia sat up for most of the night. It was Friday and they played cards with Heymans Breda until Roy's low battery indicator flashed. Breda had switched with Havoc around dinner time and seemed just as unwilling to believe the stories from Hakuro's precinct.   
Once Roy was in his room, he connected to the charging dock but refused to sleep. He wanted to hear everything. Elicia slipped in to say goodnight and then he heard her scurry to her room. Breda sat down outside his door. "I'll stay right here all night Mustang. You want anything you just ask." Breda could hear the room inside, but he was also in a spot the other man could hear him.   
"Ok." 

The next morning Hakuro had no incidents to speak of. "Seems like the super-cop of yours isn't malfunctioning after all. He's willfully broken the law twice," The man snarled.   
"Oh don't even, your proof is still some street cams that were pinpointed on purpose. This screams set-up more than when Timothy Marcoh faked his death and vanished," Olivier growled back.  
"Then interrogate him!" Hakuro slammed his hands on her desk.   
"I have, I won't let you turn the Riverton Police Department into a three ring circus. Someone's purposely dividing us with these attacks. I will let you at Mustang tomorrow, after," she paused for emphasis, "I have gotten Elicia safely with Officers Brosh and Ross."  
Hakuro nodded. "Alright, but if another incident happens," He warned.   
"I know!" Olivier slammed the door on his face.

Officer Catalina sighed as she played poker with Elicia. "Who taught you how to play?"   
"Uncle Roy, he and I have poker nights with Riza Hawkeye sometimes." The girl was doing exactly as her guardian had asked. To entertain his watch dog long enough for him to slip out. Even if she heard him drive out she wouldn't be able to follow. Elicia could not be left alone or taken with the officer.   
"He likes her a lot huh?" Rebecca asked. She didn't mind chilling with Elicia for a bit while she kept an eye on Mustang.  
"I suppose so, once everyone realizes he's innocent he can actually go on a date with her. She finally said she'd go out with him again," Elicia beamed.   
"Whoa, she said yes?"   
"Actually she asked me," Roy said from the couch. He had been watching the news but he switched the television off and turned to the two girls. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower, Elicia you do as Catalina says." He gave her a look that she was expecting.   
Rebecca nodded. "That's fine, just don't take forever. I really don't want to come looking for you and see something weird."   
"You think I look like robocop under the clothes?" Roy asked a little ruffled. When the woman gave a half shrug of confession he snorted. "And here I thought you were old friends with Riza. You know she's more talented than that. Unless you know what to look for I look the way I did before I blew myself up," Roy informed before leaving for the master bedroom.   
Once he had started the water running he slipped into the horrifyingly cheesy outfit Riza had altered for him. As an afterthought he grabbed the fedora too. Once dressed in a collared shirt, navy slacks, and the black trench coat he grabbed his keys and slid open the window. Fortunately for him the shower was a noisy device and he escaped into the backyard easily.   
He darted to the fence and extended his legs stepping over it effortlessly. Unlike his first use of the ability he slid back down to normal height without issue. Then he was in the Mustang and starting the engine. As soon as Catalina heard it she would know. He backed out the tires screeching right as the officer burst from his front door.   
"Trust me Becky, I'm doing what we've all wanted to for years now." With that he vanished into the night.  
"I am so in trouble," The female officer lamented.   
"Sorry, but no one was moving fast enough." Elicia patted her shoulder.   
"Wait, does Mustang know whose doing this is?"   
"Kimblee, he's the only rival Hawkeye has."   
"So this isn't about Roy?" Rebecca looked confused.   
"It's about pulling the rug from under Hawkeye so he can dominate the medical industry with his genetic experiments," Elicia explained. She gave the officer a concerned look. Catalina looked like she hadn't considered this whole ordeal as a power struggle.  
"What should I do?" Rebecca looked at the twelve year old.   
"Please don't bust Uncle Roy, he needs to get to Kimblee and find proof he's been framed." But the girl wasn't pleading, she looked angry.   
"What else does your uncle think Kimblee is responsible for?"   
"The arm," she answered simply.   
"Wait, you're suggesting Kimblee killed Berthold Hawkeye? Why am I discussing this all with a twelve year old?" The woman blinked.  
"Something you and Chief Armstrong don't know is that Hawkeye has a way of tracking where Uncle Roy goes. But she hadn't activated it until Ed came in yesterday."  
"So you're hoping that the look-alike makes another appearance at one point while Roy's at Crimson Tech." Elicia just nodded hoping it worked out that way. 

 

Roy managed to evade the security system until he was actually inside the Crimson Tech building. Then he stepped into a trip wire and set off an alarm. Kimblee himself and the gorrila man came to greet him in person.   
"You know I didn't expect you'd catch on this quick," The man said. "Yet here you are, good thing you slipped your nanny. Have you-know-who go do something drastic," Kimblee ordered.   
Darius nodded then hurried through a door.   
"So what brings you here?" Kimblee asked as the masked guards swarmed the room.   
"I just wanted to ask you a few questions," Roy shrugged.   
"You don't sneak into someone's business to have a chat," Kimblee tutted.   
"You don't break into a rival's lab to borrow some tech," Roy rejoined.   
Kimblee laughed. "What you lack in grace you make up for in wit. How amusing." He looked at his men, "Stun him."   
Something solid collided with the back of Mustang's head and the world went dark. 

 

Riza Hawkeye stared in relief at the tracking notification. Roy was where he intended to be unhindered by his fellow cops. That meant Elicia had convinced Catalina not to call for backup yet. With everything going as planned she couldn't just sit and wait. Riza grabbed her coat and the pistol she always wore for protection. "I've got to make sure Kimblee doesn't hurt him." 

 

Olivier Armstrong stared at the map in concern. She hoped Mustang was right. That Kimblee was the trouble maker in all this. She'd given him a bit of trust by lifting his house arrest secretly. Whoever was feeding the CEO couldn't be allowed to let this info get out.   
"Havoc, make sure you follow anyone who leaves that building. I want to catch this doppleganger in the act," She growled into a radio.   
"Copy that Chief. I'll make sure we have our proof." Havoc's voice crackled back.   
"Catalina probably thinks I'm going to punish her for his escape."


	15. Flirting with Death

Roy came to strapped to a table. "You delivered yourself right into my hands. All I have to do is pull your plug and leave you in a ditch. What your precinct thinks won't matter. By morning you'll be dead and I'll have finally gotten rid of Hawkeye." Kimblee loomed over him.   
"Here I thought you had the brains to go up against her," Roy replied.   
Kimblee's face darkened. "Please, look at this." He snapped a finger and a screen came on showing a Roy Mustang clone knocking people at a street corner senseless. "You and your dear doctor have lost this round. Too bad you won't get to see what happens next."   
"Let me guess, Hakuro's men have that footage?" Roy smirked.   
"Of course they do," Kimblee purred.   
"Then go ahead and try to kill me," Roy suggested.   
"With pleasure."   
The scientist billionaire didn't bother with trying to pull some important wiring out or blast a hole through his reinforced skull. Rather than go for the cliche Kimblee chose a tool that would ensure the job was done properly. An EMP chamber had been built in the facility for more unusual occasions.   
Roy was hauled to this room and he stiffened. It had a Nazi gas chamber feel to it the minute he saw it. "You're a sick man Kimblee, drunk on your own power," The cop sneered.   
"You are a brave idiot. Here I am prescribing your end and you talk about power and corruption," He tittered back. It was becoming more and more obvious why Hawkeye had put her research into him. He was like a character from a Saturday morning cartoon.  
"At least I don't kill innocent people and steal their research like a two bit hack," Roy said evenly.   
Kimblee's eyes darkened. "You think I care about what I have to do to reach my goals? Wealth comes from being unscrupulous not from playing by the rules. Everyone dies Mustang, I just don't forget the people I kill, because they never forget me," He sneered as he closed the three inch thick concrete door.   
He watched through a window as the cyborg stood straight and looked him in the eyes without fear or pleading. "At least you spared me the begging." Kimblee pushed a button and laughed as a sudden flash of energy filled the small room.   
The bright blue light faded instantly leaving an after image in his vision. He cackled at the sight of the officer's smoking body on the floor. "Darius get rid of that junk heap," He smirked. "One down, one to go."

 

Riza Hawkeye was just getting out of her car at Crimson Tech when a familiar voice called out to her. "Hawkeye!"   
"Roy?" She turned to the cop approaching from the shadows. "I know I shouldn't be here but I can't let that bastard ruin my good name."   
"I know Dr. Hawkeye, but I have proof now and we should get you out of here," He turned towards the Mustang parked across the street. "Let's go."  
Riza nodded and followed. A pit in her stomach had begun to grow icy cold and she shivered before looking at Roy. In the dim lamplight she managed to see behind one of his ears. Instead of the connector ports she had so carefully installed herself there was only smooth flesh.   
This was the impostor. Just as she had hoped to catch. She followed a few more steps and then halted. "Why'd you stop Hawkeye?"  
"You're not Roy Mustang," She replied simply.   
"Of course I am."   
"The real Mustang call's me Riza when we're alone," She purred.   
"So it's like that with you two?" The fake spun around slightly annoyed and impressed. His very flesh wavered and undulated until it was between looking like Roy and someone completely different.  
"Thanks for taking the bait," Riza murmured before taking a picture with her phone. She grinned as she lifted her other hand and sprayed him with mace. With a pained cry he stumbled backwards clawing at his burning face.   
"You bitch!" He shouted as he blindly swung an arm for her.  
Then she bolted back to her car and got in. Luckily she'd had the good sense to use some of her technology for herself and her silver sedan was armored and opened at the touch of her fingerprint. She'd left the keys inside and she started the car quickly.   
She tore out wondering where the real Roy was. He wouldn't leave his vehicle like that. Not the one she'd worked so hard on. "Roy where are you? I have my evidence and so does Armstrong." She pushed a button on her car and the tablet mounted in the dash lit up.   
"Locate Roy Mustang, authorization RH092." She stopped at a red light and waited.   
"Roy Mustang Located," The computer announced. "En Route to Riverton Dump."   
Riza looked at her screen sharply. "What in the hell?" She pushed a button and her breath left her lungs. On the screen was an info message.   
>Roy Mustang Systems: Functioning under Emergency Electro-Magnetic Defletion. Auxilary Systems: Gadget Coat and Hat-Non-Responsive-EMP Discharge Protection Activated. Faraday Cage feature inactive.<  
"Kimblee tried to fry him? I have to get him back up and running before his life support runs out." She slammed on the gas and careened towards his house. Once there she honked her horn from the street.   
Elicia came busting out of the front door fully dressed. Trailed by Rebecca who shouted at them all to stop this madness. "Please, Armstrong is doing what she can to help, please don't get me in trouble!" She pleaded.  
But Elicia was already sliding into the passenger seat and shutting the door. "Floor it!" The girl cried. Riza wouldn't have stopped for her, except she felt the girl had a right to be involved in this. Her guardian's life was at risk again, and she knew how horrible it would be for Elicia to not see him if something did go wrong.  
Hawkeye did peeling out without a word to her frazzled friend. "You Uncle's not doing to well," She began. "Kimblee tried to EMP him, fortunately he remembered to wear the hat and the coat and it deflected it the way I hoped it would. But he's still mostly shut down and until we get to him he is in danger."  
"Then let's get to him," Elicia replied.

 

They arrived at the dump just after Midnight. Riza and Elicia climbed through the stacks of junked furniture and garbage. Searching desperately they used the light of their phones to illuminate the jagged and deadly piles of refuse. As time worked against them they tried searching from the tops of taller stacks. Finally Elicia spotted a familiar leather shoe ahead. "There!" She screamed.   
The girl raced towards her only family praying they weren't too late.   
Riza was hot on her heels her tablet in one hand. "Please let us be in time."  
Skidding to a halt in the trash they took in his sight. He looked unscathed externally, but his coat and hat had been burned away in certain spots revealing mesh and detailed machinery within the garments. A thin mesh stuck out from the hat and coat collar meeting to form the cage that had saved him from the EMP. These articles of clothing hadn't just been designed to offer more abilities, they were protective shields. Creating an EMP proof armor had been excruciatingly difficult. But the quick acting Faraday Cage feature had done it's job.  
She'd managed to configure it to form around him if needed. The hat and shoes were necessary to connect the cage and ensure it worked. Riza pulled the hat from his head gently and the cage came apart in chunks. While the cage saved the wearer it could not protect the articles of clothing it came out of. But he was still alive.  
However, the result was an automatic emergency power down. All his systems had gone into a standby mode that made him seem dead while his life support ran off auxilary power for a few short hours.   
When Riza plugged into the port behind his right ear and began furiously typing Elicia sat beside him and watched. She looked at his boyish face and willed his eyes to open. The scientist swore loudly. "God Dammit!"   
Elicia looked up water building in her eyes. "Hawkeye?" She asked.  
"I think it's too late, he's not wakng up," Riza murmured.  
"But won't it take a minute?" The girl asked quietly.  
"No. It's an instant reboot and as long as he has oxygen to his brain he'll wake up immediately," She was crying too now.   
"No," The girl said. "NO!" She screamed.   
Riza shook her head and leaned over Roy. "I am so sorry, I failed you."   
"You can't go, you promised you wouldn't leave me all alone," Elicia put a hand on his. "Please, we need you."   
"I love you," Riza added.  
As they sat in silence in the dark garbage wasteland crying over him the man's eyebrow twitched. Neither of them noticed as he slowly opened one eye and then the other.   
Roy Mustang bit his lip at the sight of his two girls crying over him. "Um, did I fail?" He asked calmly.   
Both girls started then looked at him. For a moment there was only terrified silence and then wide watery eyes softened with relief.  
"Roy?" Riza asked in shock as Elicia tackled him in a bear hug.   
"You're alive!" The twelve year old shouted happily.   
"I remembered to activate the Faraday Cage just in time," Roy sighed.   
Then Riza was hugging him too. "Oh Roy you had us worried," she admonished.   
"Sorry, I really am useless," He replied softly. Warm lips pressed against his and he closed his eyes.   
"Quick, we got the evidence we need. You need to charge, but Armstrong needs whatever footage you recorded." Riza took his hand and pulled up, Elicia following suit. Together they hefted him to his feet and led him back to her car.   
"Dam. I really hoped he wasn't going to EMP my ass, but the room reminded me of a WWII gas chamber and I knew I didn't have much hope," He let them tuck themselves under his shoulders and carry some of his weight. He felt drained both physically and mentally.   
"He'll pay," Riza growled.  
They piled into the little sedan Elicia in the back leaning forward enough to keep her eyes on Roy. Riza drove not liking the way her boyfriend's eyes drooped every now and again. At the car he had shed the hat and coat which she tossed into the trunk. She'd have to make him new ones from scratch, but at least she knew the Faraday Cage armoring was a successful feature.  
Riza explained her encounter with Kimblee's fake. Roy stared in horror that Riza had gone after him only to meet the duplicate. Havoc had been sent to watch the copy not to arrest it. They had needed to make sure the real Roy Mustang wasn't going psycho on them.   
"The guy just melted into someone else?" Roy asked a little disturbed.  
"Yes, he seemed to be able to will his molecules to match your appearance. But he didn't have all the info on you and the missing ports behind your ears gave him away," She said.  
"With everything we've collected individually it should be enough to prove my innocence in all this," Roy said with relief. He yawned then and sighed.   
When the car pulled up at Mustang's home they were greeted by the flashing lights of a squad car. Rebecca, Havoc, and Chief Armstrong were all inside waiting. After Elicia had escaped her to get in Hawkeye's car, Rebecca had phoned the precinct exasperated and terrified of what the Chief would say. Instead she had finally been let in on the fact that this whole night had gone according to plan.  
After gettng what they needed from Roy he was allowed to go hide in his room and rest. He was glad he couldn't feel anything when he was charging his auxillary power supply. As he tried to rest he listened to Armstrong order Havoc and Catalina to stay and guard the house in case anyone came here. She also promised to give the evidence to Hakuro and explain what was truly going on.   
Riza decided to stay. She was going to keep her eye on Roy and make sure he hadn't suffered any damage. Also it was safer for her now that Kimblee knew she knew about the duplicate.  
After a while Roy slipped into a deep sleep.


	16. The Big Battle

When morning came the sounds of way too many people in his house roused Roy. He disconnected and then cleaned himself up. He emerged from his room in a pair of slacks and a button down. Rebecca and Havoc were in the kitchen making pancakes together. They leaned against each other tiredly as they worked. Riza was at the table typing at her laptop intently. Elicia was playing videogames at the TV.  
"You guys didn't have to make breakfast," He said as he slipped into the seat facing Riza's. He gave her a small smile. She smiled back.  
"It's Sunday, might as well start the day right," Jean replied. He offered a plate of pancakes and eggs to his fellow officer. Roy nodded his thanks and dug in.  
"I appreciate it," Roy murmured around a bite of eggs.  
"Besides, after last night's scare we decided you could use a hearty breakfast," Rebecca added. They finished at the counter unplugging appliances and then squeezing into the small table with their own plates. "You're gonna need a sturdier table if you and Riza make things work." She waggled an eyebrow.  
Both scientist and patient stared at the female cop in shock. Roy's jaw hung slightly open, though out of surprise at the subtle inuendo or in preparation for the mug that hung in the air was anyone's guess. Riza calmly reached a hand over and caught said mug when Roy's fingers slipped. She seemed to have expected this.  
"I think that's a ways off Officer Catalina," Roy said finally finding his voice. "Thanks Riz," he added looking at her.  
"How did you know he was gonna drop the coffee?" Jean asked a little amused.  
"I have seen plenty of coffee mug fatalities at the hands of Roy Mustang," she answered with an endearing smile.  
"Why not fix that?" Rebecca asked genuinely curious. Roy looked at Riza just as intent on hearing her answer as the other adults around the table. In the silence that followed Elicia could be heard baby-swearing at the game she was playing.  
"Because," Riza began after a moment. "I did not want to change the fundamental nature of my patient. Sure I could have made Roy less clumsy, but I think it would have been a detriment rather than an improvement. He's clumsy naturally, it's something we've all grown used to. First off it would have been a lot of work adding in some sort of subroutine that sought out ungraceful tendencies and removed them. Second, I think it would irrevocably change who Roy is."  
Havoc started laughing. "You could have just said you like clumsy guys."  
Rebecca giggled at this before slapping his arm. Riza looked at Roy patiently waiting for a response from him.  
"Thank you," was all the cyborg could whisper.  
The sound of a video game character screaming out a death cry broke the peace followed by the angry huff of an annoyed gamer girl. "Stupid game."  
Elicia switched the TV back to channels and paused when the news showed a picture of her uncle's face. "In other news Roy Mustang, the hero dubbed Inspector Gadget is nowhere to be found. Just two months after his life was saved by the brilliant Doctor Riza Hawkeye it would seem the young officer has gone missing. At this time Hawkeye is not responding to inqueries about her patient."  
Roy looked at the television for a moment. "So we're waiting for Kimblee to make the next move?" He asked.  
"Technically all our evidence was acquired illegaly. Armstrong is using it to keep Hakuro off our backs long enough for Kimblee to make a move. Most likely he'll come after Hawkeye to finish the job now that she knows about the doppleganger. Once he's sure she's taken care of it's likely the fake will make one grand show of ruining your good name before vanishing forever," Havoc replied.  
"So when he comes for Riza we need to be ready." 

 

Kimblee did come. Long into the afternoon when Ross and Breda had relieved the other two officers protecting the house. The sick bastard strode up dressed in white as always and smirking to himself. It was clear he thought Inspector Gadget was long dead and Riza Hawkeye was hiding here.  
Breda answered the door cautiously. "Mr. Kimblee I can't let you in here. Right now the Mustang house is on lockdown."  
"Come now Officer, I merely wanted to leave a gift for Miss Hughes since her only guardian is missing," He said with a polite but deadly smile.  
"I'll take it then." Breda replied noting the flowers in the man's hand.  
"Of course." He handed them over with a tip of his fedora and then turned and swaggered back to the waiting limo. Breda watched him climb in and then waited until the car was off the street before retreating into the house.  
"That guy gives me the creeps," he shuddered.  
"Let's see them," Maria Ross said holding a hand for the ridiculous bouquet. Breda handed the flowers over and then washed his hands as if Kimblee's slimy nature had rubbed off on them.  
Riza and Maria picked apart the bouquet to find the note was addressed not to Elicia Hughes, but Hawkeye. The girl made a face, "I'm glad I didn't have to meet that creep. He was bad enough at our table during the ball."  
"He wants me to come to his office this afternoon. Says he wants to discuss last night. And he threatens to harm Elicia if I don't," Riza snarls.  
"I'm calling Armstrong." Heymans pulled out his cell phone speed dialing the Chief.  
Armstrong was pleased by the tone of her voice from the speaker. "I want Hawkeye to go at four-thirty, Mustang needs to be there. Hopefully the shock of him still being alive will give us the upper hand we need. I will send Havoc, Catalina, and Falman to the house to watch over Elicia Hughes with Ross and Breda. We can't take chances here. Havoc will bring the warrant for Kimblee who is being brought in on charges of attempted murder," She ordered.  
"Sure thing Chief," Roy answered.  
"Mustang, do what you need to, but do not create more problems. We want to nail Kimblee down. Without any other evidence other than his attempt at killing you we're going to have a hard time swaying the court in our favor."  
Everyone understood what that meant. They had to wait until the situation turned dangerous to make a move and possibly give their enemy a chance to do some damage. But the only evidene that could be brought to the court without being tossed out was the proof of the duplicate Riza had gotten with her phone. She hadn't done anything illegal, and the mace was a self-defense tool used justifiably.

 

Waiting was the hardest part.  
At four the other officers arrived and brought Kimblee's charges. Regardless of if Mustang was in the building illegally it was still an attempt at murder.  
At four thirty Riza parked her car at Crimson Tech next to Roy's. The car hadn't been towed yet, probably to reduce suspicion. He slipped into it and waited. Riza went into the building.  
Kimblee was obviously waiting. He was in the lobby a smirk on his face. "Hello Hawkeye," he greeted.  
"Kimblee," She simply tipped her head in acknowledgement of her rival. She was going to be as impolite as possible and hopefully rile him up by flaunting an air of superiority.  
"So let's go talk in my office," He grabbed her arm tightly, and Riza didn't even flinch. Her lack of surprise only irritated him.  
To Roy's annoyance he was listening in on the phone built into his hand. Riza had figured her own technologically enhanced phone and Roy's would maintain a connection better than typical devices.  
"You should never keep a man waiting," Kimblee chided. Roy felt his stomach twist at the way he was talking to Riza.  
"As I recall it's a woman's perogative to be fashionably late, also you know where to find me," Riza's reply was cold.  
"Touché"

Roy would have kept listening if the thing pretending to be him hadn't appeared. At first it was obvious he didn't know the officer was in the car. Envy was hoping to use the car to his advantage. Make a total scene of Mustang's destruction before ending his charades.  
Roy pushed a couple buttons on the dash quickly. The car released a cloud of exhaust suddenly. It startled Envy just enough for Roy to make a dramatic entrance from within the car in a cloud of smoke. He grinned at the duplicate in disgust. "So you're the bastard who's been sullying my good name"  
"And I'll finish you off as well," Envy promised. His voice lost the deep mimicry of Roy's to become a grating highpitched voice with a hint of gravel. "Too bad you can't help Hawkeye and stop me."  
Roy wasn't phased until his first bullet didn't stop the bastard. He charged the cyber-cop full on and Roy shot him in the leg hoping to reduce his enemy's mobility. "Sorry but bullets don't really work on me." Envy grinned as his injury healed up rather quickly.  
The startled cop glared but didn't let on how disgusted he was. Everyone had known that Kimblee was experimenting illegally. The proof was just a little more unsettling than he had expected. Instead he took the tackle and his heavier frame held him in place. He shoved Envy back and tried a shot for the chest. He really didn't want to kill the guy, but maybe a shot in a more vital area would heal more slowly.  
Nope.  
Envy came back even angrier and sent him flying over the hood of his own car. Roy wasn't surprised strength had been added along with regenerative cells. He landed hard on the asphalt but got back up quickly. He needed to end this quickly. Kimblee still didn't know he was alive, or at least he hoped the sick freak didn't.  
Envy propelled himself over the car intending to land with a powerful kick to Roy. Instead Roy managed to point his right index finger at the shapeshifter and focused on activating the lazer in his finger. The beam of red energy cut into Envy and he dropped to the ground screaming. Roy tried to shut it off but he couldn't so he kept it trained on his enemy until he relaxed enough to excercise the necessary control.  
Envy squirmed in pain smoke peeling from the spot the lazer bored into. "Make it stop!"  
"So pain can still hinder you," Roy said finally shutting off the lazer. He noticed a warning that he'd drained a considerable amount of auxillary energy in his vision. Envy's body began to heal and he scrabbled back up and away from the cop.  
"Bastard, I'll teach you!" Envy darted behind a car.  
"Dam it," Roy growled as he gave chase. He jogged through the cars his HUD bouncing around searching for a heat signature. "Where are you?" He whispered in agitation. If he got back to the building and informed Kimblee than their plan would be severely weakened. He knew it would work no matter what, but they had needed that element of surprise.  
Maes Hughes came out from behind a brand new sedan grinning. "Hey Roy!"  
The cyber-cop paused briefly. The Hughes replica charged him an evil grin on his face. Roy sneered. Maes Hughes was a dedicated officer and devoted family man. A look as vile and unbecoming as that had never crossed the real Hughes's face.  
"Go-go-gadget flame-launcher." Roy planted his feet and prepared for the shock of a jet of flames coming out of his hand. This by far was one of his favorite of the gadgets Riza had implanted.  
A tube slid out of his wrist just past his hand and then spewed forth hydrogen gas which ignited once it was released. The face of Hughes contorted in pain before it reverted back to Envy. "You bastard, you'd burn your own friend?"  
"You are not Hughes," Roy growled keeping up the flaming barrage. It seemed that while short sudden injuries couldn't slow the freak, a good long burning attack worked just fine. "You taking his appearance is disgusting and only fuels my desire to defeat you."  
He shut off the flame-launcher and then tackled into Envy grabbing his arms and cuffing them. For good measure Roy used his belt to strap his legs together. Still smoking and healing much more slowly Envy gasped. "How dare you! You piece of junk, you aren't even human anymore!"  
"Funny, I would say the same thing about you," the cyborg replied before leaving him and heading for the doors. It was time to put an end to this.


	17. The End

Kimblee sneered at Riza from across his desk. "I know you met my associate last night."   
"Yes, and the police have already been informed you are framing Roy Mustang," Riza replied from where she refused to sit by the window. She looked out to see Roy fighting the clone. _Riza you better stall and you better stall well. _Keeping a neutral face as she turned to look at him.  
"Yes well, you wouldn't believe the kind of connections I have," Kimblee was practically purring. "I have a proposition for you." His voice turned sultry and inviting.   
Riza hated the idea of listening to his speil about not ruining her life forever if she merged Haweye Research Institute to Crimson Tech. But if it bought Roy enough time to take care of his awful duplicate than she would.   
"And what is that?" Riza demanded hotly.   
Kimblee giggled maniacally at her. "Oh you don't know yet. You think Inspector Gadget is going to come rushing through that door and save you." He grinned wickedly and leaned forward over his folded hands. "You're pet project is dead."   
"You're lying," Riza mustered some fear and worry as she refuted his claim. She had to play this just right.  
"Watch," she watched the big screen come alive showing how Kimblee had shoved Roy into a room that did indeed look like a Nazi gas chamber and then fire up an EMP. She also noticed the point where the Faraday cage extended around him.   
"No," She gasped letting her knees buckle under.   
Kimblee smirked triumphantly. "So you see Hawkeye, you can either accept that I am going to destroy you completely, or you can join me and I'll let you tinker with your bionic limbs all you want."   
He was offering an ultimatum. Good thing she didn't need to think about it.   
Riza said nothing as she just sat there pretending to fight tears and anger. Kimblee watched mesmerized.   
"You monster," Riza snarled as she pulled herself back up. She looked out the window to Roy fighting-her mind almost blanked at the figure of Maes Hughes. _Please don't lose your temper Roy. _She thought to herself as she stepped slowly towards the desk. "What do you want?"  
Kimblee looked pleasantly surprised. "Just your loyalty and life-time contract with Crimson Tech. Of course if you ever mention how your precious cyborg died I will have to use similar methods on you." His eyes narrowed in his threat.  
Riza made a conflicted noise. "How can you do that to me? I know we've been rivals, but I never ever imagined destroying your good name!" Her tongue burned at the word 'good'. Nothing about Kimblee was good or even remotely close to it.  
He laughed again. "Oh you just don't get it do you." He gave her a condescending look. "Have a seat and I will explain."   
She finally sat down.   
She listened to Kimblee blather on about how she was an altruistic fool wanting to save lives and that had she not succeeded Kimblee would have been able to secure several markets at once. But no, her more respectable method of repairing damaged bodies had caused Kimblee to be almost dropped from a big contract.   
Riza glared in disgust. "That still doesn't give you the right to do these horrible things!"   
"And who is going to stop me?" Kimblee asked imperiously.   
"I am."   
Both looked up to see Roy Mustang come into the door his right sleeve burned a little but otherwise unscathed.   
"Good one Envy but it's over." The white clad scientist clapped.   
In response the cyber-cop pulled out his badge, and grinned broadly. "Zolf J. Kimblee you are under arrest for the attempted murder of an officer of the law, blackmail, and illegal human experimentation."   
Kimblee sneered. "Where's your warrant?"   
Roy pulled a rather lengthy piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "You can thank your self for not doing a better job at getting rid of me. Did you really think Dr. Hawkeye would put all that effort into me and not figure out a way to prevent an EMP from killing me?"   
Kimblee's pale skin went even lighter. "No," He growled. He darted for the door Roy lunging for him. Kimblee just managed to grab Riza's throat as he went. Roy stumbled back not wanting her to get hurt.   
"Don't hurt her Kimblee," Roy held both hands up placatingly.   
Riza struggled for a moment before glaring at Roy. "What are you waiting for stop him!"   
"Try it," Kimblee demanded wildly.   
"I won't let you die because of me," Roy whispered as he remained still.   
"Smart man," Kimblee said as he dragged her out of the room with him. Once he was out he tossed Riza into the unmoving cop and bolted.   
Roy caught her before charging afterwards. She hurried after hoping he would catch the bastard.   
Kimblee was already in the elevator going up to his private helipad. There he planned to make a quick escape on his helicopter. The General would protect him and even vouch in his favor. Especially with their contract on the line.   
Roy missed the elevator and had to take the stairs. He raced up quickly a little surprised by how easy it was. Stairs had never been an easy task, but whatever Riza had done to his insides made it as easy as walking on level ground. He smirked to himself, caught the toe of his left shoe on the next stair, stumbled forward, and landed gracelessly on his face. Grateful there was no one else in the stairwell he righted himself in an instant and made it to the top bursting out of the door to the roof to feel something heavy slam into him.   
He stumbled back just catching himself on the door jam. "I've never met someone so stubborn as you. Twice I have tried to kill you and twice you came back despite my best efforts," Kimblee snarled. In his hands was the original arm the Hawkeye's had created to test their research on.   
"You'll remember third time's a charm," He spat before swinging the robotic tech again. Roy dodged one swing but didn't see the return taking a heavy slap to the face. "I'll kill you if I have to rip out every wire and circuit myself."  
Roy shook his head and looked around. The roof was not an ideal location for a fight. "Kimblee, just give up."  
"Oh shut up!" Kimblee swung again and Roy grabbed the arm.   
"Surrender or I will have to use force against you," Roy yanked hard.   
"Never!" Kimblee pulled a gun. "It's a little cliche, but since all my grander methods have failed." He shrugged and fired right as Riza got to the roof.   
"NO!" She screamed as the gun expelled a cloud of smoke and a single bullet.   
Roy fell back into her arms as the force managed to knock him off his feet. They landed hard.   
"Roy?" Riza asked in worry.   
"I'm ok," Roy assured. Kimblee was already climbing into his helicopter. "Dammit!"   
"You have to stop him," Riza said as they rose together.   
"How?"   
Riza gave him an exasperated look one eyebrow arching as if to say, 'I gave you all kinds of useful tools, pick one'. He nodded and ran for the helicopter whose blades were already spinning. He kept his body low, nothing could save him from decapitation.   
Kimblee took off right as he reached the chopper and it lifted above him. Roy didn't even think his legs just extended allowing him to reach into it and aim. The HUD gave him a targeting array and before he knew it the gun in his finger went off.   
The cockpit console exploded and the helicopter suddenly descended back towards the roof. Kimblee gave a furious scream as he was forced to jump out of the vehicle. Roy dodged the blast as well.   
Kimblee stalked towards the officer with gleeful malice in his eyes. "Perhaps I've been going about this all wrong," he sneered. "Maybe what I need to do is-" He cut off when Roy whispered something. "Come again?"  
"Go-go-gadget oil slick," He repeated louder. Riza smirked from where she was watching. Roy aimed for Kimblee's feet and watched the thick black liquid stain the man's pure white shoes.   
Kimblee looked unimpressed took a step forward in irritation and slipped backwards. He landed ungracefully and Roy sniggered. "I told you to give up."   
"Fine, if I can't kill you then I'll just kill her." Kimblee pointed his gun at Riza.   
"No!" Roy made to move closer but froze when the scientist raised an eyebrow. He got back on his feet and carefully stalked towards her.   
"I wanted to make a fool of you Hawkeye, perhaps I should kill you like I killed your father," he murmured.   
Riza's eyes grew dark as she realized what he was saying. "You bastard!" She had figured that out but she hadn't really considered what it meant. "He was a good man!"  
"Good men don't get you anywhere," Kimblee sneered before grabbing her and shoving her hard. She toppled over the roof edge a scream emanating from her lips.  
"RIZA!" Roy yelled rushing for her. He grabbed Kimblee and slammed him to the ground hard. Roy reached the edge to find her hanging on for dear life. He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. They stumbled away from the edge together.   
"Riza, are you alright?" He asked worried.  
"I'm ok," She replied breathlessly.   
Kimblee was getting back up. Riza approached fury in her eyes. "You monster!" She punched him hard. He went back down groaning at the force of the blow.   
"Come on Riz, I already called Chief Armstrong." Roy pulled her into him protectively.   
In the distance he could hear the sirens of police cars.   
Neither one of them saw Kimblee pull a second weapon from his suit and take aim. When Roy noticed it was too late and a plasma blast from a prototype gun sent them plummeting off the roof together.   
Roy managed to catch the roof ledge with his hands and Riza grabbed onto him. She clung tightly to his back. Below them was a shorter building, but it was still a couple stories down. Roy might be able to survive the fall but not his beloved scientist.   
He took a deep breath. "Don't move." He focused on releasing his hands from his wrists. In a whirring noise they plummeted the length of his arm extensions jolting when they reached the limit. Roy winced at the pain.   
"What are you doing?" Riza asked.   
"Getting us away from that madman before he does kill one of us." Roy then extended his legs all the way. With that he was still just a few feet short of touching the roof below. "Climb down."   
Riza kissed the back of his head for good luck then worked her way down until she reached his feet. He watched her jump the remaining distance and land on bent knees. She tapped his foot and then backed away.   
Before he could let go Kimblee appeared again. "Going somewhere?"   
Roy let go with his right hand and then activated the laser. He cut a chunk of the wall just under the man. He tumbled forward and Roy caught him before lowering him and then dropping him to the roof below. Kimblee hit the cement hard and Riza pulled his senseless form away from where Roy was going to jump down.  
The cyborg pulled in his feet and then released his grip dropping about twelve feet. He still impacted hard and stumbled forward only for Riza to catch him and smile. "You did it," She whispered before kissing him on the lips.   
Roy didn't even fight the show of affection he just went with it. When Riza pulled away for air they stood with foreheads touching in silence until Armstrong and her men showed up.   
The Chief cleared her throat then looked at the two. They pulled apart quickly, Roy straightening his stance and saluting his superior. Armstrong returned the salute and then laughed at the heap that was Zolf J. Kimblee. "I see I needn't have worried about you two getting the job done."   
"Yes Chief," Roy replied simply. He was very tired at this point. His low battery warning was flashing and his shoulders ached. He stepped back as other cops took care of Kimblee. He stumbled only for Riza to grab him and steady his body against hers.   
"Come on, lets get you back on the actual ground." She led him into the building. He needed to rest, everyone else could handle the other stuff.____


	18. Afterward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done! Yep it is the final chapter complete and finished.

Roy and Riza stood in the cemetary in every day clothes. The headstone before them read _Professor Berthold Hawkeye, Genius Father _with a pair of dates on it. Riza put her hand in Roy's smiling sadly. "It's a shame he didn't get to see you become Inspector Gadget. He was really proud of you for volunteering," She said.__  
"I'm glad I did," He replied.  
They had just left the courthouse after Kimblee's final hearing. By some stroke of luck the former Crimson Tech CEO had been found guilty of all his charges. Of course Doctor Timothy Marcoh had spilled the beans on everything in exchange for a plea bargain.  
"How did Alphonse's surgery go?" He asked. Riza had proven her work didn't cause irreparable damage to the human mind. Which meant the Elrics were getting their chance finally.  
"Very well, we had everything better prepped than for you. He's recovering and can't wait to be let out of his hospital bed."  
Roy nodded. A gentle breeze blew through their hair and Elicia came up a smile on her face. At her heels was Black Hayate and he yipped happily as he stopped at Roy's feet. The man let his right hand drop and pet the dog. He had to admit not needing to bend down for certain tasks was nice.  
"Did you leave the flowers?" Riza asked the girl.  
"Yep." She gave a sad sort of smile, she had just come back from her parents' graves. Sometimes she preferred to go visit them alone.  
Roy put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You want to get some apple pie?" Gracia Hughes had once made an impeccable pie. While no one could replicate her recipe, they usually went somewhere for pie after visiting the graves.  
"Of course," The girl replied.  
"Then lets go," Riza smiled. For a moment she felt overwhelmingly at peace. Roy was not only her successful first patient, but also her boyfriend. Her work was getting the recognition it deserved, Kimblee was never going to get out of prison after what he had done, and for a moment they were all happy.  
Roy found her hand with his. "So, I have a question for you," he murmured a little nervously. Riza's full attention turned on him.  
"Oh?" She asked.  
"I know you've been lonely in that empty apartment." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And I was wondering if maybe ya know," He trailed off hand gesturing vaguely.  
"What are you saying?" Riza looked confused.  
"Um, that maybe if you'd like, you could come stay with me?" He blushed and turned away instantly. Riza smiled gently at his forward question.  
"That's a very sweet offer," She started.  
"But you don't know if it's a good idea," Roy added softly.  
"Actually I was going to say I think it's a fantastic idea." She pulled him to look at her and grinned widely. He stared in surprise at her and when he opened his mouth to say something she stifled it with a warm kiss.  
Once they broke apart he stared at her in surprise. "You mean it?"  
"We've known each other too long not to take another step," Riza grinned.  
From the car Elicia shouted. "Hurry up!"  
The pair shared a laugh and started walking again. Roy pulled Riza closed, stumbled, and caught himself before they tumbled through the graves. Riza giggled at him. "Easy there Inspector Gadget," She teased.


End file.
